^ SKETCH 



LIFE 



COM. ROBERT F. STOCKTON; 



AN APPENDIX, 

COMPRISING 

HIS CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE NAVY DEPARTMENT 

RESPECTING HIS CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA; 

AND 

EXTRACTS FROM THE DEFENCE OF COL. J. C. FREMONT, 

IN RELATION TO THE SAME SUBJECT; 



TOGETHER WITH HIS 



Spttcljts in t\t Btmk d i\t Kmkb State, 

AND HIS 

POLITICAL LETTERS. 



c 

\J .; 




NEW YORK: 

DEEBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU ST. 

1856. 



.1 



Entkrkd according to Act of Cengress, in the year 1866, by 
DERBY & JACKSON, 

Id the Clark's Office of the District Court of the United Stales for the Southern District of New York, 



p. II. TIMBON STKHKOTYPEB. GBO. BOSSKLL 4 CO., PKINTSR 



CONTENTS. 



iNTRODrCTION. 



PAOE 

7 



CHAPTER I. 

Ancestors— Richard Stockton, the Signer of the Declaration of Independence— Rich- 
axd Stockton, father of the Commodore— An eminent Lawyer— Boyhood— Enters 
College— Character and Standing in College— His Self-Education— Enters the Navy 
in 1811— Habits of Temperance 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Mr. Stockton ordered to the Frigate President— President sails on a Cruise— Affair 
with Belvidera— Stockton appointed Aid to Commodore Rodgers— His Standing as 
an OfiBcer- Cruise of the President— Offers Battle to a British Seventy-four— Relief 
of Alexandria— Defence of Baltimore— Recommendations of Mr. Stockton to the 
Navy Department by Rodgers— Promoted to a Lieutenancy— Sails for the Mediter- 
ranean-Popularity of the Navy— Article from the London Times 14 

CHAPTER IIL 

Stockton sails with Commodore Decatur to chastise the Algerines— Affair with Al- 
gerine Frigate— Capture of Algerine Brig— Returns to the United States— Applies 
for Service in Mediterranean Squadron— Sails with Commodore Chauncey— Trans- 
ferred to Sloop-of-war Erie— Affair with a Midshipman- Insolence of British Offi- 
cers—Stockton resents it.— Meeting at Naples— Difficulties at Gibraltar— Narrow 
Escape of Stockton— Returns in charge of Arrested Captains— Encounter with 
Spanish Frigate— Treatment of his Passengers 25 

CHAPTER IV. 

Stockton solicited by the Friends of the Colonization Society to aid them— Applies 
for one of the new Schooners— Sails in the Alligator for the Western Coast of Africa 
—Interview with Sir George McCarty— Visit to Cape Mesurado— Intercourse with 
Natives— King Peter agrees to Treat— Dangerous Palaver— A Cession of Territory 
obtained by Treaty— Liberian Republic 39 

CHAPTER V. 

Stockton sails for the United States— Captures the Marriana Flora— Proceedings in 
Court- Supreme Court sustains the Capture— Stockton's Instructions respecting the 
Slave-trade— His Opinions as to there being no Legal Property in new-made Slaves 

8 



c^pr 



ENTS. 



PAOB 



on the Coast of Africa — Captures the Jeune Eugenie — Proceedings in Court — Cele- 
brated Opinion of Judge Story, sustaining the Capture on grounds of Universal 
Justice and the Law of A^ature and Nations — Fondness for the Sports of the Turf... 48 

CHAPTER VI. 

Reorganization of Parties in 1826-7 — Independent Action of Mr. Stockton — His Rec- 
titude as a Politician — The Federalists — Ilis Opinions of their Proscription — Mr. 
Adams pledges not to Proscribe — General Jackson's Advice to Mr. Monroe — State 
of Parties in New Jersey — State Democratic Convention — Mr. Stockton appointed a 
Delegate — His prompt Punishment of an Insult — Convention Dissolved — Success of 
the Adams Ticket — Mr. Adams's Violation of his Pledges — Mr. Stockton denounces 
Him — Supports General Jackson in 1828 — Construction of Delaware and Raritan 
Canal — Financial Difficulties — Mr. Stockton goes to London and secures a Loan — 
Mr. Stockton an Anti-Monopolist — Canal Completed — Its National Importance — 
New Jersey Internal Improvements — Transit-Duties — No Tax on Citizens of other 
States — Parallel between Mr. Stockton and De Witt Clinton — Letter on Public 
Works 56 

CHAPTER VIL 

Mr. Stockton sails in the Ohio (seventy-four) for the Mediterranean — Gives his Atten- 
tion to Naval Architecture — Visits England — Forms the Design of a Steam Frigate 
— Promoted to Post-Captaincy — Returns to United States — State of Parties — Van 
Buren's Administration — Corruption — Insult to New Jersey — Captain Stockton Re- 
pudiates Van Buren — Supports Harrison — Mr. Tyler's Independent Action — Offers 
the Appointment of Secretary of the Navy to Captain Stockton — Declined — Con- 
struction of War-Steamer Princeton — Success of this Vessel — Accident — Report of 
Court of Inquiry — Captain Stockton sails to Texas with Annexation Resolutions — 
Predicts Mexican War 76 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Captain Stockton ordered to the Frigate Congress — His Letter to the Secretary of the 
Navy — Sails for the Sandwich Islands — Voyage — A Sabbath on the Congress — In- 
cident at Callao — Difficulties in the Sandwich Islands with the Native Government 
— Speech in Presence of the King — Sails for Monterey 94 

CHAPTER IX. 

Proceedings of Commodore Sloat in California — State of the Country — Views of Com- 
modore Stockton — His decided Measures — Organizes the California Battalion — Ap- 
points Colonel Fremont to Command of it — Despatches him to the South — Sails for 
San Pedro — Disciplines the Sailors for Shore-Service — General Castro — Californian 
Forces — Commodore Stockton's Treatment of the Commissioners from the Enemy — 
March to Ciudad de los Angeles — Alarm of the Enemy — Castro flies — Surrender of 
his chief Followers — Commodore Stockton organizes the Territorj' into Military De- 
partments — Organizes the Civil Government — General Submission of Inhabitants — 
Tranquillity of the Country — Commodore Stockton proceeds North — Forms a De- 
sign of raising a Force to march overland to Mexico City — Letters to Captain Mer- 
vine and Colonel Fremont 110 

CHAPTER X. 

Insurrection at the South — Movements of Commodore Stockton — Fremont ordered to 
San Diego — Stockton sails for San Pedro — Repulse of Captain Mervine — Landing 



CONTENTS. O 

PAOS 

of Forces at San Pedro — Stockton proceeds to San Diego — Preparations for March 
on Ciudad de los Angeles — Defeat of General Kearney at San Pasqual — Relieved by 
Stockton and escorted to San Diego — His Instructions — Claims the Civil Governor- 
sljip — Refuses the Military Command-in-chief — Volunteers as Aid of Stockton — 
Extraordinary Letter of Kearney — Stockton's Reply — Kearney takes the place of 
Lieutenant Rowan — Order of March 128 



CHAPTER XL 

March on Ciudad de los Angeles — Commissioner from Flores — The Commodore's Treat- 
ment of him — Letter to Colonel Fremont — Battles of San Gabriel and the Mesa — 
Dispersion of the Enemy — Commodore Stockton re-enters Ciudad de los Angeles — 
Treaty of Coengo — Colonel Fremont appointed Civil Governor — General Kearney's 
Pretensions — Dismissed from his Command of the Troops — General Pacification of 
California — Commodore Stockton returns to his Ships — Kearney and Fremont — En- 
tire Approval of Stockton's Proceedings by Government — President's Message — Re- 
ports of Secretaries of Navy and War 142 



CHAPTER XIL 

Commodore Stockton's Abstinence from Speculation while in California — Establishes 
the first Printing-Press and the first Free-School in California — Rev. Walter Colton's 
Letter — Draws on Washington on his own Responsibility for Funds to pay Expenses 
of the War — Prepares for Overland Journey — Description of his Party — Attacked by 
Indians — AVounded — Punishment of the Enemy — Extricates his Men from Ambus- 
cade — Buffalo Hunt — Arrives at St. Joseph — Reception — Parting with his Men — Ar- 
rives at Washington 157 

CHAPTER XIIL 

Reception of Commodore Stockton by his Friends — Complimentary Dinner at Phila- 
delphia — Reception by the Legislature of New Jersey — Resignation of Commission 
— State of Parf.es in the United States — Letter to Mr. Webster on Slavery — Declines 
an Electiop *o the Senate of the United States — His Election 169 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Commodore Stockton takes his Seat in the Senate — Kossuth Excitement — Resolutions 
of Legislature of New Jersey — Commodore Stockton the first to grnsp the Practical 
Question presented by Kossuth — Speeches in the Senate on Flogging in the Navy — 
Washington's Birthday Banquet — Baltimore National Democratic Convention — The 
Presidential Nomination — General Expectation that Commodore Stockton would be 
tendered the Navy Department — Resignation of Seat in Senate 187 



CHAPTER XV. 

State of Parties in 1854 — Their threatened Dissolution — The American Party — Motives 
for the Repeal of the Missouri Restriction — Commodore Stockton's Opinions of the 
Repeal — Political Opinions on other Subjects — His Speech at Trenton — Encomium 
on Mr. Webster— Misrepresentation of the Speech— The Sentiments of the Speech 
now generally approved — The American Movement — Commodore Stockton's Ameri- 
can Letter jgg 



V 



CONTENTS. 



APPENDIX. 



PAOB 

1. California. — Reports and Correspondence with the Navy Department 1 

Instructions of the Secretary of War to General Kearney — Instruc- 
tions from Navy Department 30 

Court-Martial at Washington, November, 1847 — Defence of Colonel 

Fremont 31 

Hon. Mr. Benton's Speech, July, 1848, in Executive Session, on 

Nomination of General Kearney 41 

2. Commodore Stockton's Resignation as Senator — Extracts from the Newspapers — 

The Presidency 48 

3. Address of Commodore Stockton to the People of New Jersey on the Canal and 

Railroad Charters, 1849 54 

4. Colonization. — Speech at Princeton, 1824 6."? 

Speech at Washington, D. C, 1825 , 67 

Letter to Mr. Webster, March 25, 1850 69 

5. Elizabethtown Address, July 4, 1851 79 

Trenton Address, March, 1852 128 

6. Speeches in tue Senate. — On Flogging in the Navy 84 

On Non-intervention 94 

On Compromise Measures 99 

' On Efficiency of the Army and Navy 102 

On Harbour Defences 108 

On the Question of Adjournment 119 

On Indian Appropriations 121 

On the Death of Mr. Webster 125 

On Party Politics in the Senate 126 



INTRODUCTION. 



If great achievements, important public services, and a 
life devoted to conferring benefits on his country and race, 
can render the biography of a living man, interesting to his 
cotemporaries, — if modest reluctance to trumpet his own 
fame, or even vindicate himself from injustice or detrac- 
tion, impose on his friends an obligation to perform that 
duty for him, — then we need offer no apology for this sketch 
of the life and services of Commodore Stockton. 

We esteem it one of the most happy events in our life 
to have known Commodore Stockton intimately from his 
youth. Educated and brought up in the same village and 
academic institutions, — though often separated from him 
during some of the most active years of his life, — we never 
lost sight of him, nor failed to observe, with the greatest 
interest, every incident of moment in his varied and re- 
markable career. 

It is therefore from our own knowledge from time to 
time, as the chief events of his hfe took place, as well as 
from information obtained from his companions on sea and 
shore, and from official documents, that we have derived 
the materials for the following narrative. 



8 INT^pUCTION. 

We present it to the public, not without confidence that, 
although imperfect and deficient, as it doubtless is, they will 
nevertheless find in it something worthy to be recorded and 
remembered, — a contribution to American history which 
justice to a patriotic and meritorious fellow-citizen has 
long demanded. 



A SKETCH 



LIFE OF COMMODORE STOCKTO]^. 



CHAPTER I. 

AKCESTOKS KICHARD STOCKTON, THE SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENIV 

ENCE RICHARD STOCKTON, FATHER OF THE COMMODORE AN EMINENT LAWYER 

BOYHOOD ENTERS COLLEGE CHARACTER AND STANDING IN COLLEGE HIS SELF- 
EDUCATION ENTERS THE NAVY IN 1811 HABITS OP TEMPERANCE. 

More than a hundred years previous to the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, the ancestors of Commodore Robert F. Stockton emigrated 
from England, and purchased a large tract of land, on which they 
settled, in the central part of New Jersey. They belonged to the 
Society of Friends (or Quakers, as they are often called), and left 
Iheir fatherland to escape from the persecution which all dissenters 
experienced from the restored dynasty of the Stuarts. They ob- 
tained a deed from the Pennsylvania lawgiver for all that land 
bomded by the Province line of New Jersey on the west, the Mill- 
stoa on the east, and Rocky Hill on the north, embracing the pre- 
sent borough of Princeton and about six thousand acres. Upon 
this tract the Stocktons for several generations have continued to 
reside, and here the subject of our narrative was born and now lives. 
The great-grandfather of the commodore was John Stockton, one 
of the first Presiding Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the 
County of Somerset. He was a man of education and influence in 
the early history of New Jersey, and universally respected. His 
eldest son Richard (grandfather of Commodore Stockton), who 
was educated with great care, was still more distinguished.* He 
adopted the profession of the law, and soon became successful in 
its pursuit. He married a sister of Elias Boudinot, one of the 

* See Fields' s Provincial History, p. 190. 



10 COMMODORE STOCKTON'S PARENTAGE. 

Presidents of Congress under the old Confederation. The Boudi- 
nots were of Huguenot extraction. Thus, in the commodore's line- 
age was blended the blood of the Friends and the Huguenots, Avho 
were alike voluntary exiles from the land of their nativity for con- 
science' sake — fugitives from the tyranny and oppression of the old 
country — pioneers of religion and liberty in the forest wilds of Ame- 
rica. Richard Stockton attained the highest eminence as a lawyer 
in New Jersey. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court before the 
Revolution, and a member of the King's Council for New Jersey. 
He was one of the principal benefactors of the College of New 
Jersey; and it was through his instrumentality, while on a visit to 
England and Scotland, that Dr. Witherspoon was induced to accept 
the presidency of that institution, a-nd emigrate to New Jersey. 
The commanding talents and virtues of Mr. Stockton gave him great 
influence in the colony, and were exerted from the first in stern 
resistance to the tyranny of the mother country. He and all his 
family friends zealously united in defence of American liberty. 
Among these were Elias Boudinot, his brother-in-law, and the cele- 
brated Dr. Benjamin Rush, of Philadelphia, his son-in-law. Mr. 
Stockton was elected to Congress in 1776, and had the honour, 
together with his son-in-law. Dr. Rush, of subscribing the immortal 
Declaration of Independence of the 4th of July of that year. His 
life was shortened by the cruel treatment he received from the 
British in 1781, by whom he was captured and thrown into prison 
From the hardships and sufi'erings to which he was then subjected 
he never recovered, but in a few months prematurely ended his 
brilliant career, universally lamented. Had he survived the Revo- 
lutionary War, his great abilities, purity of character, and patriotic 
services, would have given him a high position in the new repuHic. 
He was a devoted friend of Washington, and enjoyed his confidence 
in a high degree.* 

The father of the commodore was Richard Stockton, the eldest 
son of the signer of the Declaration of Independence. At tv/enty- 
five years of age he stood at the head of the New Jersey Bar, and 
maintained that position for forty years, and until his death in 1828. 
He ranked among the foremost lawyers of the United States. For 
profound learning, sound judgment, weight of character, and un- 
blemished integrity, his memory will long be cherished in New 
Jersey. Despising the arts of the politician and the demagogue, 
he stood aloof from all personal strifes for oflice or popular favour, 

* Fields's Provincial Coiirts. 



HIS SCHOOL-BOT DAYS. 11 

preferring the independence of the private citizen to any official post. 
In politics, he was a Federalist of the Washington and Hamilton 
school ; but no one more freely condemned the factious and ultra 
designs of the Eastern or Hartford Convention Federalists than he. 
He was elected to the Senate of the United States during the admi- 
nistration of Washington, and, after a short period of service there, 
retired altogether from public life, which he re-entered again only 
to serve a single term in the House of Representatives of Congress 
during the war of 1812. It was as a great common-law lawyer, 
however, that he was chiefly distinguished : as such, his reputation 
was co-extensive with the country, and his opinion constantly sought 
and consulted by eminent counsel from other states. 

Such were the immediate ancestors of Robert F. Stockton. Those 
who are best acquainted with him, and who have most frequently 
witnessed his grasp of mind when brought in conflict with subjects 
of importance, say that he much resembles his father in the vigour 
of his intellectual faculties, and in that strong practical common 
sense for which he was so remarkable. His boyhood furnished 
strong indications of the character by which he has since been dis- 
tinguished. All its principal features were displayed in his early 
youth. Personal courage, a high sense of honour, an intolerable 
hatred of injustice, united with unbounded generosity and devoted 
attachment to his friends, were traits of disposition which marked 
him as an original and decided character while at school. Mag- 
nanimous and chivalric, he was always the champion of the weaker 
party, and the foe of every species of school-boy tyranny. Respect- 
ful and courteous to all, his high sense of honour was prompt to repel 
and punish insult or aggression. The legends of his youthful prowess 
and victorious encounters while a school-boy constitute a part of the 
traditions of the Princeton schools, and are still often recited for 
the entertainment of his juvenile successors. Intrepidity, an intui- 
tive perception of right and wrong in every difficulty, however unex- 
pected — decision of character, and a cool and wary self-possession, 
by which he was always master of his own resources — characterized 
the boy as they now characterize the man. These qualities bore 
him triumphantly through all the conflicts and difficulties of boyhood, 
with a reputation increased by every test to which he was subjected. 

He entered college in the freshman class when in his thirteenth 
year, and was soon distinguished for his industry and proficiency. 
He stood among the first in his class, exhibiting much aptitude both 
for the languages and the mathematics. In elocution he particularly 
excelled ; and had he remained at college until he graduated, would 



12 A SELF-MADE MAN. 

probably liave received thWiighest honours of his class. In a year 
and a half he would have completed his whole collegiate course, 
when the impending war with Great Britain excited his patriotic 
sensibilities and inspired him with the desire to seek glory in the 
path of danger. The fame of Nelson was then in its zenith, and 
Stockton's young heart was fired with the hope of emulating the 
exploits of the great British Captain. Though fond of literary pur- 
suits, and with talents which would have enabled him to take a high 
rank at the bar, yet such was the ardour of his patriotism that he 
relinquished all the advantages which he enjoyed for the acquisition 
of a finished education, and earnestly sought a position in the navy. 
His application for a midshipman's warrant was forwarded to 
Washington in the summer of 1811, and in due time he received 
his commission, bearing date September, 1811. 

Considering the immature age at which he ceased his academic 
studies, and the fertility and resources of his mind, as exhibited so 
soon as it was directed to civil and political affairs, it must be seen that 
Mr. Stockton should be classed with those who are called self-made 
men. Aided by the little elementary training which he enjoyed, his 
mind directed itself in its development. Guided by the instincts of 
good sense and a sound judgment, he pursued, at all intervals of 
leisure from active duty, such a course of reading and such studies 
as were calculated to be of the greatest practical utility. Moral and 
ethical philosophy, the law of nations, and history, constituted the 
principal subjects of his attention. The Bible, Cicero, Shakspeare, 
and Lord Bacon were his favourite st^idi^ Whatever subjects he 
investigated, he did so thoroughly. Not so much the details as the 
principles of knowledge engaged his attention. An eminent pro- 
fessor of Princeton College* a few years ago remarked to us, that 
Mr. Stockton, in some respects, was the most extraordinary and best 
informed man he had ever met; that there was no subject which 
could be started for discussion in his presence, whether of law, reli- 
gion, morals, science or philosophy, on which he would not throw 
light by whatever he said, and hold a successful controversy with 
any one who had made the particular subject in dispute the chief 
object of his study. 

There can be no doubt that, as soon as he entered the navy, 
Mr. Stockton formed for himself a very high standard of excellence, 
the attainment of which he persisted in reaching, without being 
diverted from his object by any obstacle or exigency. He saw and 

* Professor Albert B. Dod. 



iMii- 



HABITS OF TEMPERANCE. 13 

appreciated the defects as well as the merits of his superiors in com- 
mand, and soon learned that the cultivation and training of the 
intellectual faculties were the only proper means of insuring invari- 
able success. His energy and force of character enabled him, not- 
withstanding a keen relish for pleasure and those amusements which 
so often entirely engross the time of the young oflBcer, to persevere 
in the line of conduct which he had prescribed for himself. His 
love of pleasure or society never tempted him to neglect his duty, 
nor to trespass upon the rules of sobriety. To his habitual temper- 
ance, notwithstanding the seductions of naval life, he is indebted 
for a sound constitution and an adolescence of spirit and physique 
characteristic of a man of thirty-five or forty years of age. Though 
now approaching his grand climacteric, his capacity for enduring 
fatigue and labour, whether of mind or body, was perhaps never 
greater at any period of his life than at present. 



14 STOCKTON'S FIRST NAVAL EXPEKIENCES. 



CHAPTER 11. 

MR. STOCKTON ORDEEED TO THE FKIGATE PRESIDENT — PKESFDENT SAItS ON A CRUISE — 

AFFAIR WITH BELVIDERA STOCKTON APPOINTED AID TO COMMODORE RODGERS 

HIS STANDING AS AN OFFICER CRUISE OF THE PRESIDENT — OFFERS BATTLE TO 

A BRITISH SEVENTY-FOUR RELIEF OF ALEXANDRIA DEFENCE OF BALTIMORE 

RECOMMENDATIONS OF MR. STOCKTON TO THE NAVY DEPARTMENT BY RODGERS 

PROMOTED TO A LIEUTENANCY SAILS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN POPULARITY OF 

THE NAVY — ARTICLE FROM THE LONDON TIMES. 

Soon after receiving his commission, Mr. Stockton was ordered 
to join the frigate President, in command of Commodore Rodgers. 
He left his paternal residence at Princeton, February 14th, 1812, 
and repaired to his ship, then lying at Newport, Rhode Island. The 
President soon afterwards sailed on a cruise along the coast, where 
a number of British frigates were arrogantly hovering. She re- 
mained at sea during the spring, giving protection to our commerce, 
and returned to New York about the 1st of June. 

On the 21st of June, three days after the declaration of war with 
Great Britain, Commodore Rodgers sailed from New York in com- 
mand of a squadron consisting of the frigates President and Con- 
gress, the ship-of-war Hornet, and the brig Argus. On the second 
day after getting to sea, the President fell in w'ith the British frigate 
Belvidera, Captain Byron. The President, by superiority of sail- 
ing, got within gunshot of the Belvidera between four and five 
o'clock, p. M., when, finding the breeze moderating, Commodore 
Rodgers commenced firing with his bow-chase guns, with the design 
of crippling the enemy, and by this means retarding her and bring- 
ing on an action. His very first shots killed several seamen on the 
Belvidera and wounded the captain. The enemy kept up a brisk 
discharge with her stern guns, and resorted to all the usual means 
of increasing her speed for the purpose of escape, by throwing over- 
board anchors, yawl and jolly boats, and starting water-casks ; and 
by this means her flight was accelerated, and she gained on her 
opponent. The President then bore up and fired her broadsides, 
but, owing to the distance, without much effect, except on the sails 
and rigging of the Belvidera. The running action between the two 
frigates continued for three or four hours after night; and during 
the darkness the Belvidera succeeded in eluding her adversary. 



HIS STANDING AS AN OFFICER. 15 

Three men on the President were killed by the shot of the Belvidere, 
and four by the bursting of a gun, and nineteen were wounded, 
principally by the accident. The enemy's loss, according to his 
own account, was two killed and four or five wounded, though it is 
believed that his loss was much greater. Thus, young Stockton had 
hardly breathed the salt-water air before he heard the whistle of the 
enemy's cannon-shot. During the action, his coolness and his fine 
military deportment attracted the particular attention of the Com- 
modore. The sagacious old sea-captain saw in the manly bearing 
of his young midshipman the true sort of stufi", — the enthusiasm 
which kindled with the roar of guns and the undaunted self-pos- 
session which the tumult of battle only concentrated. 

One of the duties of the youngest aid (when the men were called to 
quarters or to man the batteries) was to bring the Commodore's belt 
and pistols. In performing this duty soon after his appointment, the 
young aid, on one occasion, was not so expert and ready as the Com- 
modore desired. On reproving him slightly for his deficiency, Stock- 
ton said he had "never before been accustomed to perform such 
services for a gentleman." The Commodore, pleased with the frank- 
ness of his manner, laughed heartily and let it pass. Rodgers 
entertained the most favourable opinion of Stockton's good quali- 
ties, and considered him an officer of the highest promise. 

His promptness to perform every duty, his alacrity to anticipate 
its requisitions, his fine spirits and joyous temper, his courteous and 
respectful but manly deportment, and his daring courage, made him 
the general favourite of the ship's crew, from the old Commodore to 
the common sailor. The enjoyment which he seemed to derive 
from the perils of battle, as well as the ardent hopes he evidently 
cherished of soon again participating in its excitement, won for him 
the significant sobriquet of '■'■Fighting Boh ;" an appellation by which 
he is yet remembered by many an old salt. 

The President and Congress continued their cruise for eighty or 
ninety days, capturing many British vessels, passing over a space 
of not less than eight thousand miles, and hunting for an enemy 
wherever he was most likely to be found. In relation to this cruise, 
the editor of Niles's Register (vol. iii. p. 300) says : — " For such 
a cruise as this, were Rodgers and Smith" (captain of the Con- 
gress) '< Frenchmen, Bonaparte would have made them members of 
the Legion of Honour." 

After refitting with the utmost despatch, during a short stay in 
port. Commodore Rodgers again put to sea in search of a foe. He 
ran down near the outer line of the Gulf Stream, with the intention 



16 CRUISE OF THE PRESIDENT. 

of intercepting the convoy of the West Indian fleet, then supposed 
to be on its way to England. Failing to come up with them, he 
crossed over to the Banks of Newfoundland. Thence he shaped his 
course for the North Sea, cruising in the vicinity of the Shetland 
Isles and Orkneys, and almost within the " chops of the British 
Channel." It was reported in the English papers that he had 
landed for water and provision in Scotland; and the frightened 
islanders began to fear that another Paul Jones would pounce on 
their coast and burn their towns. 

The dismay and consternation with which this bold captain struck 
the British Isles may be seen by perusing the contemporary news- 
paper chronicles. 

Niles's Register of October 9, 1813, says: — "The British papers 
call Commodore Rodgers the Julius Caesar of America ; and, on its 
being reported that he was captured by a seventy-four, say (and we 
believe truly) that few events Avould give more satisfaction than a 
visit from the Commodore." 

The Register quotes also the following from the London Courier 
of July 20, 1813, to shoAv Avhat efforts to capture Rodgers were made 
by the enemy : — " Several small squadrons have been detached in 
search of Commodore Rodgers. Lord A. Beauclerk sailed from St. 
Helens, on Thursday, with the Royal Oak and Sea Horse ; the Hon. 
Captain Paget is gone from Plymouth with the Stqjerb, Menclaus, 
and Fly; and Admiral Young has detached several frigates to go 
north about." 

It will be observed that, although it was known, from the nume- 
rous captures made by the President, that she was cruising in the 
neighbourhood alone, the British frigates detached in pursuit of her 
sailed in companies of two or more, and appeared by no means will- 
ing to encounter Rodgers, unless with a force decidedly superior. 

Though diligently scouring the seas for five months, and frequently 
sailing in sight of the shores of Great Britain and Ireland, the Pre- 
sident could not succeed in bringing any British frigate to action. 
"Wherever such a vessel was seen, she was always found under the 
protection of a seventy-four.* 

The President, on the 5th of December, after a few weeks' visit 
in port, again spread her sails on a winter's cruise to the West 
Indies. She was again unable to meet an adversary willing to 
engage her. Impatient and chafing with his ill luck, the Commo- 
dore, as he was entering the harbour of New York, came across the 

* Commodore Rodgers's letter to Secretary of Navy, September 27, 1813. 



OFFERS BATTLE TO A BRITISH SEVENTY-FOUR. 17 

Britisli seventy-four-gun ship Plantagenet, and oflfered her battle for 
five consecutive hours, often approaching so near that an engagement 
seemed inevitable.* 

During the exciting preparations for the expected action, Mr. 
Stockton was stationed in the maintop, in command of twenty men, 
with rifles and two howitzers ; and at a period when the guns were 
ordered to be manned, and the Commodore supposed the engagement 
was about to commence, he hailed the maintop, saying, " Mr. Stock- 
ton, I expect a great deal from your maintop to-day." Stockton 
replied, "Only get near enough. Commodore, and we will give a 
good account of ourselves." 

The excuse subsequently made by the British Commodore for 
declining to fight an American frigate was, that his crew had 
shown symptoms of mutiny. This excuse must be considered alto- 
gether unsatisfactory, when it is known that a British frigate was 
within sight, though not observed, at first, from the President. As 
soon as this additional enemy was discovered. Commodore Rodgers, 
having taken a pilot, thought it his duty to enter the harbour of 
New York.f 

Notwithstanding Commodore Rodgers was not so fortunate as to 
enjoy a fair encounter with a British frigate, no naval commander 
stood higher in the esteem and confidence of his countrymen. The 



* Niles's Register, March 12, 1814; August 13, 1814. 

f "The Saucy President." Extract of a letter dated February 22, inside the light, 
Sandy Hook, from an officer of the fi-igate President to his friend in Providence. 

"Situations in which we have been placed, this cruise, will, I think, add lustre to 
the well-established character of Commodore Rodgers. 

"After passing the light, saw several sail, — one large sail to the windward. 
Backed our maintopsail and cleared for action. The strange sail came down within 
gunshot; hauled her wind on the larboard tack. We continued with our maintop- 
sail to the mast three hours ; and, seeing no probability of the seventy-four-gun ship's 
bearing down to engage the President, gave her a shot to windward and hoisted our 
colours, when she bore up for us reluctantly. When within half-gunshot, backed his 
maintopsail. At this moment all hands were called to muster aft, and the Commo- 
dore said a few but impressive words, though it was unnecessary ; for what other sti- 
mulant could true Americans want than fighting gloriously in sight of their native 
shore, where hundreds were assembled to witness the engagement? Wore ship to 
engage, but, at this moment, the cutter being discovered off, backed again to take in 
the pilot ; and, the British seventy-four (strange as it may appear) making sail to the 
southward and eastward, orders were given to haul aboard the fore and main tacks, 
to run in, there being then in sight from our deck a frigate and a gun-brig. 

" The commander of the seventy-four had it in his power, for five hours, to bring 
us at any moment to an engagement, — our maintopsail to the mast during that time." 
— Niles's Register, March 12, 1814. . 

2 



18 RELIEF OF ALEXANDRIA. 

terror ^vith which he insiffffed the enemy proved his renown as a 
brave and skilful captain. Had the British commanders been as 
desirous as he was of a meeting on equal terms, he would doubtless 
have given them a reception worthy of his fame. 

To have won the esteem and affection of such a commander is 
evidence of good conduct and youthful promise in Stockton. 

Commodore Rodgers was soon afterwards ordered to the new 
frigate Guerriere constructed at Philadelphia and nearly ready to 
proceed to sea. 

The war-cloud, however, which had so often threatened, now burst 
with fury upon our coasts. Immense fleets with Wellington's 
invinciblcs, released by the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte from 
European campaigns, hovered along the Atlantic shores, blockading 
our ports, and prepared to attack the most defenceless. "Washing- 
ton had been taken, the public buildings burned, and Alexandria 
and Baltimore were both in danger. Alarm and apprehension 
pervaded the entire seaboard. Commodore Rodgers And his crew 
were summoned to the defence of Baltimore, and thither they re- 
paired with the utmost promptitude. After his arrival at Balti- 
more, no immediate attack being apprehended, the Commodore 
went to Washington to advise with the Secretary, Mr. Jones, 
and took his young aid Stockton along with him. Being thrown 
for several days much in the company of the Secretary, Stockton 
became so much of a favourite with him that he insisted on retain- 
ing him as his aid. While acting in this capacity, he was on one 
occasion summoned from his bed at Crawford's Hotel in George- 
town at midnight, in consequence of a brisk cannonade in the direc- 
tion of Alexandria. When coming into the presence of the Secre- 
tary and a number of officers, who were astonished at what they 
heard and at a loss to assign a cause for it, Stockton at once 
remarked, "We make no discoveries by remaining here; give me a 
horse and I will soon let you know what is going on down below." 
A horse was furnished him, and he rode that night into Alexandria, 
which was in possession of the enemy. 

Returning from Alexandria, he asked to be relieved from his 
attendance as aid to the Secretary, and resumed his post with Com- 
modore Rodgers, where he expected more active service. 

Commodore Rodgers was immediately despatched to Alexandria, 
in the vicinity of which several British frigates were anchored, 
and from which they had already exacted large contributions. 
Immediately on his arrival there he fitted out a flotilla of small 
vessels, some of which were prepared as fire-ships, for the pur- 



DEFENCE OP BALTIMORE. 19 

pose of being floated down in contact with the enemy's ships. 
Barges were manned likeAvise, with the design of boarding and 
capturing in a hand-to-hand fight the British frigate. The gallant 
manner in which Rodgers and his crew defended Alexandria, and 
protected her from experiencing the fate of Hampton and Havre 
de Grace, maj be seen in detail in his correspondence with the 
Navy Department, September 9, 1814.* "We insert the following 
extracts, to show the conspicuous part which young Stockton bore 
in this expedition : — 

« Having reconnoitred the enemy, getting my cutters hauled up, 
placing the lighter in an advantageous position and my musket- 
men on the top of the clifl" overlooking the river, I was at 1 p. m. 
attacked by all the enemy's barges ; but, by the cool intrepidity 
of Lieutenant Newcomb, having charge of the lighter, assisted by 
Lieutenant Gaunt, S. Master Ramage, and Master's Mate Stockton, 
and forty-five seamen, the enemy were not only repulsed, but in less 
than twenty minutes thrown into the utmost confusion and driven 
back to their ships." 

In another part of the same letter, Commodore Rodgers says : — 

"Permit me at the same time to recommend to your attention 
Mr. Stockton, master's mate, who not only rendered me essential 
service as acting aid-de-camp, but in every other situation mani- 
fested a zeal and intrepidity not to be shaken." 

Baltimore was now threatened by the force under General Ross, 
flushed with his successful and Gothic foray on Washington. The 
most serious apprehensions of the expected attack were generally 
entertained. Rodgers was directed to co-operate with the militia 
hastily collected for the defence of that city. The authorities in 
command received the Commodore and his crew with the greatest 
cordiality, and posts of danger and honour were generously assigned 
them. 

The important part performed by the ofiicers and men of 
Commodore Rodgers, in repelling the combined attack of the British 
land and naval force on Baltimore, is recorded in contemporary 
documents. f In the report of the Assistant Adjutant-General to 
Major-General Smith, he says: — 

"It is with peculiar satisfaction the commanding general seizes 
the opportunity of acknowledging the very great assistance he has 
received from the counsel and active exertions of Commodore 
Rodgers. His exertions and those of his brave oflicers and seamen 

* Niles's Register, vol. xvii. p. 36. 

j- Niles's Register, September 24, 1814, vol. vii. 



20 DEFENCE OF BALTIMORE. 

have contributed in a very ^inont degree to the safety of the city, 
and shouhl be remembered with lively emotions of gratitude by 
every citizen." 

In Commodore Rodgers's despatch to the Naval Department of the 
23d September, 1814, (Niles's Reg., vol. vii.,) he sets forth in detail 
the services of his officers and men on that occasion. In this letter 
he says, "Much praise is also due to Major Randal, commanding 
a battalion of Pennsylvania riflemen, who was also placed under my 
command, and whom I despatched, with my aid, Mr. Stockton to dis- 
lodge a party of men in the enemy's boats which it was supposed 
intended landing near the Lazaretto to take possession of our little 
three-gun battery. Mr. Stockton, on his return, reported to me in 
very high terms the zeal and gallantry displayed by the major and 
his corps on the occasion." 

In another part of the same official despatch, Commodore Rod- 
gers says: — 

" To Master 8 Mate Stockton, my aid, I am greatly indebted for 
the zeal and promptitude with which he conveyed my orders from 
jyost to post, and wherever I had occasion to communicate, although 
in some instances he had to pass through shoivers of shells arid 
rockets." 

It may not be without interest to give some of the details respect- 
ing young Stockton's participation in the defence of Baltimore, 
such as we heard them when the particulars were current. 

Stockton, with three hundred men, had marched down below 
the city to assist in repelling the attack of the British on the 
Lazaretto. After the enemy had failed in their attempt, he 
found himself on a narrow neck of land, with no boats with which 
to cross the bay, and an English force exceeding his own in num- 
bers so posted as to be able to intercept his retreat. He made a 
forced march, and, before the enemy could take advantage of the 
ground to cut off" his communication, extricated himself from that 
danger and took a position between the British and American force. 
He then rested, and sent a messenger to the Commodore, informing 
him of his situation. His letter was returned to him with an 
endorsement by the Commodore to this purport: — "It is desirable 
that the enemy should be induced to make his attack before night- 
fall. Meet them, and bring them on behind you." 

As soon as he received these instructions, he stationed about two 
hundred of his men on each side of the road on which he intended 
to retreat, with directions not to fire a shot until they had the 
enemy between them, and, taking the other hundred, proceeded 



DEFENCE OF BALTIMORE. 21 

to reconnoitre his opponents. On approaching, he discovered the 
British encampment flanked by a thick swamp. As he was pro- 
ceeding quietly and cautiously in advance of his men, he was unex- 
pectedly fired upon from one of the enemy's outposts. Looking in 
the direction of the shot, he saw a British soldier reloading his 
musket for another trial. Stockton gave him a chance to exchange 
shots, and when they had both fired it was supposed to be the last 
shot which the Englishman ever made. This drew out the British, 
and a general skirmish took place. Stockton, retreating on his 
ambush, was followed by the enemy until they came within sight of 
the sailors, who, having heard the frequent- reports of their com- 
rades' rifles, could not repress their excitement. Shouting and hui"- 
raing " Stockton has got them — he'll bring them along !" disclosed 
themselves, when the enemy, suspecting a stratagem, prudently 
checked their advance and concluded to return. Stockton remained 
■watching their movements till after night, and until he became satis- 
fied that they meditated a retreat to their ships. As soon as he 
had formed this opinion, he sought the Commodore and told him 
that he believed the enemy intended to retreat that night, and re- 
quested to have the command of the sailors and marines, and "he 
would board them in their camp." The Commodore was much 
pleased with Stockton's conduct, and took him to the head-quarters 
of General Smith, the commander-in-chief, to whom he repeated 
the expression of the opinion that the enemy would go to their 
ships that night, and ofiered, if the general would give him one 
thousand men, to lead a night-attack upon the retreating foe. But 
the general said there was an ancient saying, <' Make a bridge for 
a retreating enemy," in which he thought there was much wisdom; 
and that if the enemy were disposed to retreat, he would not inter- 
pose any obstacle to such a movement. 

Cooper, in his naval history, says of Stockton in his California 
campaigns that he seemed to be everywhere. The same ubiquity 
seems to have characterized his service on the waters of the Chesa- 
peake during the war of 1812, although acting in a subordinate 
capacity. On his first arrival at Baltimore, his first service was at 
night, lying down on the wharf watching the enemy's motions. 
Then he w^ent with Commodore Rodgers to Washington, Avho was 
summoned there for consultation with the Secretary of the Navy. 
There, for a few days, we find Stockton acting as aid to the secre- 
tary ; then riding at night to Alexandria, and returning to give 
the government intelligence of the enemy's attack on that city. 
Next we hear of him engaging the enemy and aiding to repulse 



IZ MORAL EFFECT OF THE WAR. 

tlicm on the banks of the Potomac ; then we find him soon after at 
Baltimore, towing vessels and sinking them in the channel near the 
fort, the enemy firing shot and shell over his head all the time. We 
next learn that he is in Fort McHenry, consulting with Colonel 
Armstead ; then he is found down on the marine battery, aiding in 
driving the British ships from their mooring. He then is seen as 
an express rider conveying information from the fort to the general 
over ground literally ploughed by the enemy's shells. For three 
days and three nights, including the time when the principal attack 
on Baltimore was made, he had no repose. When he first arrived at 
Baltimore he wore a straw hat, blue jacket, and linen trousers. When 
the enemy had retired. Commodore Rodgers ordered him to the city 
for food, rest, and refreshment ; some one loaned him a hat, Com- 
modore Perry furnished him an overcoat, and from another he ob- 
tained a decent garment for the remainder of his person. 

These details, imperfect as they are, nevertheless show the ardour, 
spirit, and gallantry of young Stockton in the performance of his 
duty. They show, too, how well he improved every opportunity 
which offered for obtaining distinction. Though one of the youngest 
midshipmen under the Commodore, he was still thought worthy of 
being made his aid-de-camp. In this responsible position his good 
conduct justified the discernment which induced the Commodore 
to make the appointment, and drew from nim the most decided 
commendation. He soon received from the government that evi- 
dence of its consideration always the most grateful to the young 
officer, — promotion. On the 9th of December, 1814, Mr. Stockton 
was commissioned as a lieutenant. 

The war terminated, and the navy having covered itself with laurels 
in every sea, and wherever an enemy could be met, without a single 
defeat involving the slightest diminution of its glory, the most favour- 
able disposition was manifested towards it by the people and the go- 
vernment. Whatever may be thought of the few victories achieved 
by the army and the militia, there can be no question that our naval 
achievements inflicted the most poignant wounds upon our adver- 
sary. They touched the chords of his most exquisite sensibilities ; 
they broke the charm of Old England's naval invincibility ; they 
humbled her national pride and destroyed her boasted claim to 
wield the Trident of the seas. 

As it is within the scope of this narrative to vindicate the claims 
of the navy to some of the most brilliant achievements of the Mexi- 
can war, it may be excused if we here quote from the enemy, to 
show what were the effects of our naval exploits in the war of 1812. 



CONCESSION OF THE LONDON TIMES. 23 

In the London Times of December 30, 1814, immediately after 
the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Ghent were signed, ap- 
peared an article of doleful tenor, from which we quote :* 

"The state of the funds may be said to afford a most striking 
comment on the text of those who have the front to call the Treaty 
of Ghent Jionourable to this country. The peace is like that of 
Amiens, — a peace of necessity/ ; and upon what grounds ? ^A lean- 
ing to certain points,' it seems, has been ^ hinted' at the Con- 
gress of Vienna. Russia or Austria or Prussia has avowed an in- 
clination to support the innovations on public law which Mr. Madi- 
son asserts. If any of the powers who have received our subsidies, 
or have been rescued from destruction by our courage or example, 
have had the baseness to turn against us, it is morally certain that 
the Treaty of Ghent will confirm them in their resolution. They 
will reflect that we have endeavoured to force our principles on 
America, and have failed ; nay, that we have retired from the 
combat with the stripes yet bleeding on our hacks. Even yet, how- 
ever, if we could hut close the war with some great naval triumph, 
the reputation of our maritime greatness might he partially restored. 
But to say that it has not hitherto suffered in the estimation of all 
Europe, and, what is worse, of America herself, is to belie common 
sense and universal experience. 'Two or three of our ships have 
struck to a force vastly inferior !' No ; not two or three, hut many 
on the ocean, and ivhole squadrons on the lakes; and the numbers 
are to be viewed with relation to the comparative magnitude of the 
two navies. 

^^Scarcely is there an American ship of war which has 7iot to 
boast a victory over the British flag. Scarcely one British ship in 
thirty or forty that has beaten an American. With the bravest sea- 
men and the most powerful navy in the world, we retire from the 
contest when the balance of defeat is so heavy against us. From 
that fatal moment when the flag of the Guerriere was struck, there 
has be^n quite a rage for building ships of war in the United States. 
Their navy has been nearly doubled, and their vessels are of extra- 
ordinary magnitude. The people, naturally vain and boastful, have 
been filled with an absolute contempt for our maritime power and 
furious eagerness to beat down our maritime pretensions." 

These passages from the oracle of the British public show how 
humiliating to British arrogance were our naval victories during the 
war of 1812. And they prove also how deserved was that popu- 

* Niles's Register, February 18, 1815, vol. yii. 



24 GROWING POPULARITY OF THE NAVY. 

larity of our naval heroe.^, wliich was universal when their triumphs 
"were still fresh in the remembrance of men. But when the army 
began to furnish Presidents, the glory of the American navy in- 
sensibly faded in the memories of a new generation. 

The whole policy of the country was, however, revolutionized by 
the success of the navy in the second war with Great Britain. It 
was looked upon as the primary means of defence with any mari- 
time power. The people, with general unanimity, demanded that it 
should be placed upon a footing of greater efficiency. The govern- 
ment promptly responded to the national wishes, by making liberal 
appropriations for the gradual increase of the navy. One of the 
first results of this change of policy was the maintenance of a re- 
spectable squadron in the Mediterranean, 



WAE WITH ALGIERS. 25 



CHAPTER III. 

STOCKTON SAILS WITH COMMODORE DECATUR TO CHASTISE THE ALGERINES AFFAIR 

WITH ALGERINE FRIGATE — CAPTURE OF ALQERINE BRIG — RETURNS TO THE UNITED 
STATES — APPLIES FOR SERVICE IN MEDITERRANEAN SQUADRON — SAILS WITH COM- 
MODORE CHAUNCEY TRANSFERRED TO SLOOP-OF-WAR ERIE AFFAIR WITH A MID- 
SHIPMAN — INSOLENCE OF BRITISH OFFICERS — STOCKTON RESENTS IT — MEETING AT 

NAPLES DIFFICULTIES AT GIBRALTAR — NARROW ESCAPE OF STOCKTON — RETURNS 

IN CHARGE OF ARRESTED CAPTAINS ENCOUNTER WITH SPANISH FRIGATE TREAT- 
MENT OF HIS PASSENGERS. 

Soon after the restoration of peace with Great Britain, war was 
declared by the United States against the Dey of Algiers. In con- 
formity with the policy which governed the relations of the chief 
maritime nations of Europe with the Barbary powers, the United 
States had formed treaties with them providing for the annual pay- 
ment of subsidies in consideration of their forbearing to prey on 
the commerce of American citizens. No sooner had war between 
the United States and Great Britain commenced, than the Dey of 
Algiers, well knowing that our national ships would be fully em- 
ployed with the British, violated the subsisting treaty, and pro- 
ceeded to capture American vessels and reduce to slavery those 
American captives who had been taken prisoners. The United 
States had discovered that it was the policy of the larger maritime 
states of Europe, especially of England, to tolerate the Barbary 
powers, for the purpose of checking the growth of the commercial 
enterprise of the smaller European states. In Lord SheflSeld's 
work entitled "Observations on the Commerce of the American 
States," he recommends this policy without disguise. He says, 
(p. 204,) '■^It is not probable the American States will have a very 
free trade in the Mediterranean ; it will not be the interest of any 
of the great maritime poivers to protect them from the Barbary 
States. If they know their interests, they will not encourage the 
Arnericans to be carriers. That the Barbary States are advan- 
tageous to the maritime powers is certain. If they were suppressed, 
the little States of Italy, ^c. tvould have much more of the carrying 
trade." '■'■The armed neutrality would be as hurtful to the great 
maritime powers as the Barbary States are useful. The Americans 



26 AFFAIR WITH AN ALQERINE FRIGATE. 

cannot 2)rotcct themselves from the latter; they cannot pretend to a 
navy.'' 

This language, held by a prominent British statesman, did not 
escape tlie attention of the American government. The ratification 
of the Treaty of Ghent had not been exchanged when, on the 2d 
of March, 1815, Congress declared war against Algiers, 

On the 18th of May following, Commodore Decatur sailed for 
the Mediterranean with a squadron composed of the frigates Guer- 
riere, (the flag-ship,) Macedonian, Constitution, sloop-of-war Ontario, 
brigs Epervier, Firefly, Flambeau, Spark, and schooners Spitfire 
and Torch. 

Mr. Stockton sailed in this squadron as junior lieutenant, on the 
Guerriere, but was transferred soon after to the Spitfire, Com- 
mander Dallas, in which vessel he acted as first lieutenant. The 
squadron had been but a few days in the ^Mediterranean, when the 
Guerriere, in company with the Spitfire, fell in with the Algerine 
frigate Mishouri, of forty-four guns. In the chase, the Spitfire, 
being an excellent sailer, kept side-by-side with the Guerriere as 
she approached the corsair ; when, to avoid getting between the 
Guerriere and the enemy, the Spitfire ran close up under the stern 
of the Algerine. While the Guerriere was ranging up broadside 
and broadside, at the moment when the action was commencing, 
Lieutenant Stockton suggested to Captain Dallas that they 
would never, perhaps, have so good an opportunity to observe 
the efiect of a frigate's broadside, and asked leave, before the 
Spitfire took part in the action, to go out on the bowsprit and 
watch the eff"ect of the Guerriere's first broadside. He immediately 
went out on the extremity of the bowsprit, and, after the second 
broadside of the Guerriere, returned, and said to Dallas, "The 
Guerriere is shooting very wild ; let us go to work and knock in 
the cabin-windows of the pirate." During the remainder of the 
action, which lasted a half hour, the Spitfire, with her long thirty- 
two-pound gun, poured in a raking fire until the enemy's guns 
were silenced, and her men, after striking their flag, ran below. 
She proved to be the flag-ship of the Algerine admiral, who was 
killed, together with thirty of his crew. No one on the Spitfire 
was injured, and the only damage sustained by the Guerriere was 
four men wounded. The commodore put a prize crew on the 
Algerine frigate, and sent her into Carthagena. 

Two days afterwards, the American squadron fell in with an 
Algerine brig of twenty-two guns and two hundred men, which, in 
the chase, ran ashore on the coast of Spain, in such shallow water 



SAILS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN. 27 

that none but the smaller vessels of the squadron could approach 
her. The Spitfire was among the first to commenco the action ; 
but, while it was raging, some of the other smaller vessels got in 
between the Spitfire and the enemj. Immediately on perceiving 
this, Lieutenant Stockton asked permission of Captain Dallas 
to take the boats and go in and board the pirate, as the only 
chance of having an equal share in the victory. Leave being 
granted, Stockton put off for the stranded vessel. As soon as this 
movement was perceived, boats were manned from the other vessels 
and followed the crew of the Spitfire. Stockton kept ahead, and 
first led his men on the enemy's deck, through the port-holes. 
They found the deck of the Algerine brig literally covered with 
the dead and dying. The brig was subsequently lightened and got 
off-shore, and sent into a Spanish port. 

Commodore Decatur now sailed for Algiers, and dictated peace 
to the humbled Dey. Full reparation was exacted for previous 
depredations, and the treaty expressly provided, that thenceforward 
the United States commerce should suffer no molestation, without 
any tribute of any sort being paid for such exemption. From 
Algiers the Commodore went to Tunis and Tripoli, and obtained 
from those powers compensation for injuries sustained. 

Commodore Decatur was soon after relieved by Commodore Bain- 
bridge, who took command of the squadron, Commodore Decatur 
returning home. 

The following year, Commodore Bainbridge, with his squadron, 
returned to the United States. Lieutenant Stockton, in the Spit- 
fire, accompanied him. 

Another squadron, under Commodore Chauncey, was soon de- 
spatched to the Mediterranean. The Spitfire being ordered to be 
laid up, Lieutenant Stockton applied to be detached from her and 
to be transferred to the squadron of Commodore Chauncey. He 
was ordered to join the flag-ship of the Commodore, and sailed as 
seventh lieutenant on the Washington, seventy-four guns, for the 
Mediterranean, in February, 1816. 

The cruise of this squadron, which continued several years, was 
memorable on many accounts, and will long be celebrated in our 
naval annals. 

In a period of profound peace, occasions do not often happen 
when naval officers of subordinate rank can increase their reputa- 
tion. Their duties, when on service, consist of an ordinary routine 
with little variety of circumstance or action. Any failure to 
observe the rules prescribed for the government of the navy, may 



28 TRANSFERRED TO THE ERIE. 

prove fatal to the young officer; while scarcely any opportunity is 
offered for the display of talents, however brilliant. It could hardly 
be expected, therefore, that Lieutenant Stockton, during his four 
years' cruise in the Mediterranean, would have been able to augment 
to any great extent his rising reputation. 

But it is the property of genius to create opportunities in which 
to acquire fame, as well as to use them to the best advantage. 
Lieutenant Stockton, during these few years of service in the 
Mediterranean, not only augmented his high standing as a naval 
officer, but acquired a reputation for chivahy and courage which 
gave him a name throughout Europe as well as America. 

Among the occurrences which will always make the cruise of the 
squadron at this time stationed in the Mediterranean deserving of 
note in our naval histor}', were those many serious difficulties which 
grew out of the extraordinary powers claimed and exercised by the 
commanders of the different vessels over their crcAvs and officers. 

During this cruise it was that Commodore Perry struck Captain 
Heath, and a duel ensued between them. Then, too, the first effort 
for reform in the discipline of the navy may be said to have com- 
menced with the famous memorial subscribed by the junior officers 
of the squadron, denouncing in manly but respectful language the 
arbitrary assumptions, tyranny, and injustice of the commanders. 

During all these exciting events. Lieutenant Stockton still main- 
tained his standing as a cool, reflecting, dispassionate, but firm re- 
former. He signed the celebrated memorial to Congress of the 
junior officers of the fleet, and placed himself as a firm, unyielding 
opponent of the indiscriminate use of the Cat, and of the unofficer- 
like and harsh and unjust treatment of subaltern officers of all 
grades. 

In the course of this cruise, on the application of the commander 
of the Erie, Captain Gamble, Lieutenant Stockton was ordered as 
second lieutenant to that ship. A short time afterwards, the first 
lieutenant of the Erie having obtained leave to return home, Stock- 
ton became the first lieutenant. 

It was on board of the Erie, while Lieutenant Stockton occupied 
this position, that an event took place which, perhaps, as much as 
any other event of his life, marks the decided cliaracter of the man. 
Owing to the difficulties to which we have referred, the discipline 
of the squadron had by this time become seriously demoralized. 
Many of the superior officers were held in contempt by the subaltern 
officers, who did not hesitate to express frequently, in unguarded 
language, their hostile feelings and opinions. The Erie was ofiicered 



AFFAIR WITH A MIDSHIPMAN. 29 

by a high-spirited, gallant set of young gentlemen, jealous of their 
rights and as inflammable as gunpowder. 

Captain Gamble was a good officer and disciplinarian, and Lieu- 
tenant Stockton was determined to do his part in reforming the 
discipline of the squadron, and teaching the junior officers the first 
principle of military life, — that of respect for and obedience to 
their superiors in command. He has always held, however, that it 
was obligatory on the commander to inspire his officers not only 
with a sense of deference to his official dignity, but to impress them 
likewise with a conviction of his own high sense of honour and his 
punctilious regard for the principles of justice in all his intercourse 
with them ; in fact, that it is his duty to convince his officers that he 
is a gentleman who will neither do wrong himself, or suffer it to be 
done by others with impunity. One of the first lessons which he 
endeavoured to teach those under his command was that of remain- 
ing cool and preserving their self-possession under all circum- 
stances. He would say, (to use his own words, which we have often 
heard repeated,) "Remember, gentlemen, that there is always time 
enough to fight ; keep cool ; never get in a passion, under the grossest 
provocation." 

These principles and views being entertained by him, it is quite 
natural that he should consider the event which we are now about 
to relate as one of the most trying and difficult of all others which 
on any occasion happened to him while he was in the service of the 
country. He was undoubtedly governed in his conduct in this affair 
by a sense of duty to the service, and not by personal considera- 
tions. Indeed, from the best information we have been able to ob- 
tain, he never had a serious personal altercation on his own account 
with any officer of the navy. All the difficulties in which he was 
ever involved were produced by his devotion to the country and the 
honour of the service. And in all cases of personal difference be- 
tween others, whether officers or citizens, in which he was induced 
as a friend to act for one of the parties, never in any one instance 
did he permit them to proceed to the final resort, but invariably suc- 
ceeded in effecting an amicable arrangement. 

Returning one evening to his state-room. Lieutenant Stockton 
overheard one of the midshipmen of the Erie in the steerage, which 
was only separated by a thin partition from the state-room, say, 
among other unpleasant things, that "Lieutenant Stockton would 
not have dared do" what he had been referring to before, (but which 
was not heard,) "unless he had taken advantage of his superior 
rank." 



80 AFFAIR WITH A MIDSHIPMAN. 

Stockton retired witliOTt any notice of the remark. In the morn- 
ing, however, he communicated what he had heard to a marine 
oflficer. The marine officer said to him "that he was under no obli- 
gation to take any notice of the midshipman's observation, because 
he was not supposed to have heard it." 

Stockton replied, " that it was a very easy thing to get out of the 
difficulty if he could reconcile himself to consider it only as a per- 
sonal matter." But he said, "That is a clever young man : I enter- 
tain a high opinion of him as a good and gallant officer; and if he 
really believes that I am that sort of person, as his remark imports 
me to be, he will impress others with the same opinion, and my use- 
fulness in the service will be at an end. I see no way to prevent 
the evil consequences of such impressions among the officers but to 
offer myself a sacrifice, to check the disposition on the part of the 
young officers to speak disparagingly of their superiors without 
cause." 

He then told the marine officer that he wished him to invite the 
midshipman on shore, and there say to him that " Lieutenant 
Stockton understands that you consider yourself as having been 
grossly insulted by him, and that you have said that he would not 
have dared to have acted as you allege he did had he not taken 
advantage of his rank." Stockton told the marine officer that he 
had no idea how or when he had insulted the midshipman. " But if 
he asks whether I intended to insult him, you must consider your 
lips sealed on that subject, and reply that you have considered 
yourself insulted, which constrains Lieutenant Stockton to direct 
me to inform you that you have very much mistaken his charac- 
ter, and that he wishes you, as well as all others, to understand 
that his rank need never stand between him and the just indigna- 
tion of any honourable man." 

The result was, that the midshipman challenged the lieutenant ; 
that they went on shore and stood at eight paces, and were to fire 
as they pleased after the word " fire" had been given. As 
soon as the word was given, the young midshipman fired and 
missed. Stockton then said that " perhaps that was a mistake, and 
that the opposite party had better reload, as Lieutenant Stockton 
waived his right to take deadly aim and fire at an unarmed man." 
But with great gallantry the young midshipman said that he had 
had his fire, and that if Lieutenant Stockton would shoot, and he 
was able afterwards, he would reload. Whereupon Stockton dis- 
charged his pistol in the air. The young officer, however, refused 
to consider that as the fire which Stockton had the right to make, 



INSOLENCE OP BRITISH OFFICERS. 31 

and persisted, together with his friend, in refusing to load again 
until Stockton had shot at him. 

Thus the parties stood in an attitude towards each other which it 
seemed at first very difficult to alter. The seconds, after a short 
consultation, referred to the principals. Lieutenant Stockton said 
he thought " there Avas no difficulty in the case ; that he had come 
to give those gentleman satisfaction, and if they were satisfied, he 
was — perfectly." The second of the midshipman, as chivalrous as 
any man, observed that they must be satisfied ; and thus the aifair 
terminated. And all those gentlemen, principal and seconds, be- 
came and continued ever afterwards firm and admiring friends of 
Stockton. The midshipman remained on the Erie precisely as if 
nothing had occurred, only there was no one aboard more zealous 
and prompt to preserve the discipline of the ship than he. 

During the four years which Lieutenant Stockton spent on the 
Erie, many changes took place in her personnel. At last there was 
no ship in the squadron which could boast a superior company of 
officers. They were all gentlemen of a high sense of honour, cour- 
teous, hospitable, intellectual, and brave, and were in fact the 6lite 
of our service, if any could be so called. The leisure time of the 
officers of the Erie was not devoted to dissipation or wasted in 
idleness. Lieutenant Stockton particularly applied himself with 
assiduity to his nautical studies. He esteemed it to be one of his 
first duties to become perfect master of his profession. The law of 
nations likewise, as well as the common law and the law martial, 
were objects of his special study. 

His aptitude for questions of law, and the forensic talents which 
he displayed, induced his brother officers to call on him to act as 
their counsel before courts-martial ; and we have been told that, 
whether owing to the justice of his causes or to his own ingenuity 
and ability in such efi"orts, he was invariably successful. 

On the first appearance of the American squadron in the Medi- 
terranean as part of our regular peace establishment, the American 
uniform was a comparative stranger in the principal ports of that 
sea. The British naval gentlemen had been long accustomed to the 
assertion of superiority or precedence over the officers of other 
flags. They hectored and bullied the officers of other nations with 
impunity ; at places of public resort, on public occasions, at hotels, 
and even at private entertainments, their arrogance and insolence 
were displayed without restraint. Chafed and mortified by the bril- 
liant naval victories of the United States during the recent war, 
they seemed disposed to manifest a particular animosity towards 



^^ — - DUl 



32 *^— DUEL AT NAPLES. 

the American uniform. ^Notwithstanding tliis bad state of feeling, 
the American officers were determined to give no just cause of 
offence ; nor did they ever do so. 

It will be observed, tiiercfore, that tlie provocation which led to 
the celebrated encounters in which Stockton was engaged in the 
Mediterranean were national in their origin. Their object was not 
the gratification of personal pique or resentment, but the discharge 
of a patriotic duty, implicating the defence of American honour. 

On the arrival of the squadron on one occasion in the Bay of 
Naples, while a British fleet was at anchor there, the following 
occurrence took place : — 

It is the custom at that rendezvous of the fleets of difterent na- 
tions, for the officers who employ the natives on shore to work for 
them or to supply them with fresh provisions, to give them certifi- 
cates in a book carried by them, and which they exhibit as evidence 
of their honesty and skill. On the arrival of the Erie, she was 
boarded by one of these Neapolitans, who exhibited his book of 
certificates and solicited employment. On opening the book, Mr. 
Stockton observed a recommendation given in the usual form by an 
American officer, who had returned to the United States, and imme- 
diately under it a remark, subscribed by a British officer, expressing 
in very insulting language a contemptuous reflection on the " Yan- 
kees." The author of this needless insult was known to be on a 
British ship of the line then at anchor in the bay. The insult 
was addressed to every American, and liable to the observation of 
the officers of every flag which might visit Naples. Lieutenant 
Stockton accordingly determined to exact an apology or a fight 
from the offender. He despatched a friend with a note addressed 
to the British officer who had been guilty of the offence, demanding 
an apology or satisfaction. The latter alternative was conceded, 
and a meeting agreed on. After some delay the parties met on 
shore. The Americans found that the Englishmen were very shy of 
exchanging shots at close quarters. They desired to fight at long 
distances, and would only consent to the combatants shooting in the 
time that a handkerchief held to the chin of one of the seconds, on 
being dropped, would reach the ground. They desired to fight duels 
without any risk of being hit. Stockton, however, shot his oppo- 
nent on the first trial in the leg, when, picking up his wounded 
limb in his hand, he commenced crying, "I am hit ! I am hit ! Are 
you satisfied? are you satisfied?" Stockton replied that he was 
not satisfied, and demanded another trial. But nothing could 
induce the Englishman to make another such experiment. 



DIFFICULTIES AT GIBRALTAR. 33 

The next aiFair of this nature occurred at Gibraltar, and originated 
in the circumstances which we shall now briefly narrate. 

The Erie arrived at Gibraltar, on one occasion, alone, no other 
American ship-of-war being in company. As soon as she arrived, a 
very respectable captain of a Boston merchantman came aboard and 
complained of the outrageous treatment to which he had been recently 
subjected. The captain was evidently a gentleman keenly suscep- 
tible of any indignity, personal or national, which could be offered 
to him. It appeared that it was a regulation at Gibraltar that every 
one in the streets after a certain hour at night should carry a light 
in a lantern with him. The American captain was ignorant of this 
regulation, and, returning home after the prescribed hour from 
supper with a friend, only a few doors from his boarding-house was 
arrested by the guard. He offered to satisfy the guard who he was 
if he would only go with him a few doors to his boarding-house. 
The guard refused this reasonable request, and conducted him to 
the officer of the station. To him the American captain repeated 
his excuse. The ofiicer affected to discredit his story, and ordered 
him to be detained. The American captain remonstrated, and the 
British officer abused him in opprobrious terms, and finally thrust 
him in a dungeon in which the vilest crimirrals were confined. He 
was there detained until liberated at the instance of the American 
consul, but no redress was tendered. The American captain then 
challenged the British officer of the station, who received his chal- 
lenge with the contemptuous inquiry whether he was fool enough to 
suppose that a British officer would fight the captain of a "damned 
Yankee merchantman." 

After satisfying himself of the facts of the case, every effort was 
made to obtain some redress from the British captain by Lieutenant 
Stockton ; but every such attempt was repelled in such a manner 
as aggravated the original offence. In consequence of this outrage 
upon an American citizen, a hostile meeting was arranged to take 
place between Lieutenant Stockton and the captain of the guard, 
with the express stipulation that, whatever might be the result, the 
American ofiicers should have a free passage to their ship. 

The meeting took place, and much dispute arose respecting the 
terms and distances to be agreed upon. The British oflBcers desired 
to fight at long distances, and on the dropping of a handkerchief. 
The Americans wanted the distance shortened, and to fire when they 
pleased. The British oflEicer was wounded, and his second would not 
permit another exchange of shots at that time. Lieutenant Stock- 
ton told them pretty plainly that he did not approve their conduct, 

3 



84 NARROW ESCAPE OF STOCKTON. 

which indicated, in his opinion, nothing but cowardice. They then 
said that, unless the affair was soon settled, Stockton would have to 
fight all the captains of the regiment. Assuming this communica- 
tion to be a challenge from all the captains of the regiment, Stock- 
ton promptly accepted it, adding that, as they had differed about 
the distance, they might choose it for themselves at any point 
between eight paces and two inches. The difficulties increased with 
every negotiation; and, after several meetings, the governor of 
Gibraltar interposed, and, at his suggestion, the Commodore of the 
American squadron forbid the officers of the Erie to go ashore. 

The particulars of these hostile meetings we have never been 
able to obtain ; or, if we have heard them, it has been so long ago 
that we cannot trust our memory for a correct description. 

But there was a meeting between Stockton and a British officer 
of the garrison of Gibraltar, the account of which, at the time, 
made such a lively impression that we shall venture to relate it 
according to our remembrance. 

Some time after the first affair at Gibraltar referred to on the 
previous page, the Erie returned from a cruise of a month or two, 
to Gibraltar. Soon after her arrival, Lieutenant Stockton received 
a message from the British captain with whom the unsettled diffi- 
culty was pending, that he was ready to give Stockton the meet- 
ing agreed upon at the neutral ground, and that he might depend 
upon their not being molested by the military police. 

At the appointed time, Stockton, accompanied by Purser Bowen 
and Dr. Peaco, proceeded to the ground at 12 o'clock. The British 
parties were again unwilling to fight on the terms and at the dis- 
tance proposed by the Americans, and would only fight on their 
own terms. So many difficulties were raised by them that at last 
Stockton told them they only wanted to prolong the negotiations 
until they should be discovered by the authorities of Gibraltar and 
interrupted. He had hardly made this remark when a guard was 
seen coming out of Gibraltar in the direction of the neutral ground, 
and it became apparent that the guarantee by which they had 
been lured ashore was Avorthless, and that, unless the terms 
dictated by the Englishmen were accepted, no conflict would take 
place. Stockton told his second to have done with negotiation, and 
let him fight on the terms of his adversary. Having wounded his 
opponent, upon going up to him to inquire into his condition, 
the British officer advised him to save himself, by immediately 
leaving the ground, if he wished to escape being arrested. After 
denouncing their treachery, and defying them for any future en- 



NARROW ESCAPE OF STOCKTON. 35 

counter they might dare to risk, Stockton turned into the road 
leading to the shore, where his boat was aAvaiting his arrival. The 
road was rough and strewn with rocks, and at the foot of the hill 
could be seen a strong detachment approaching for his arrest. In 
descending the eminence, the road forked, and Stockton took the 
route on which he saw the guard consisted of but two men. In his 
descent he fell, and rose with his eyes filled with dust, and his face 
streaming with blood from the wounds received in his fall. He was 
in his shirt sleeves, and had his head bound up in a red bandanna 
handkerchief, and could see out of the corner of but one eye. In 
this plight, covered with dust and blood, he pushed on, visible to 
all the inhabitants of Gibraltar, who soon became apprised of what 
was going on, and who covered the tops of the houses to witness 
the scene. As he approached the guard of two men, they presented 
their bayonets and ordered him to stand. He approached them, 
apparently with the intention of surrendering, until they had 
shouldered their guns ; when, seizing each of them by the collar, 
he dashed them to the ground, and rushed on with all the speed he 
could make. After proceeding about one hundred yards farther, 
he met a man on horseback, whom he surprised, and, pitching him 
from his saddle, mounted his horse, and, on full gallop through the 
main street of Gibraltar, eluding every attempt to stop him, held 
his way until he reached the spot where his sailors were anxiously 
waiting his appearance. They received him in their arms with a 
shout which sounded over the whole bay, and which was responded 
to with three cheers from the American squadron, as well as the 
vessels of many other flags, whose crews had been spectators of the 
exciting scenes which we have endeavoured to relate. 

Governor Don now issued his proclamation forbidding any inter- 
course, for hostile purposes, between the American and British 
officers, and applied himself seriously to the task of effecting a 
final settlement of all differences between them. He had frequent 
conferences for that end wiih Commodore Stewart, the commander- 
in-chief of the American sq'-ndron. Through these exertions of 
the governor and the Commodore, terms of amity were agreed upon; 
and some months afterwards, uprtu the return of the Erie, pro- 
posals for peace were accepted and a general pacification concluded. 
Governor Don gave a grand ball, in celebration of the treaty of 
peace, at which the Englir'h and American officers came together 
with good-will and complete r;armony. 

It would be unjust to bt-^ckcon for the reader to infer, from these 
personal rencontres in the first years of his naval life, that he is 



36 inn'iR:NS in ciiaroe of arrested captains. 

what is called a professional duellist. So far is this from being the 
case, tliat it is well known that he has uniformly discouraged the 
practice among those over whom he exercised any influence, and 
that he has been the means of compromising more difficulties between 
officers in the American service, and of averting more duels, than 
any other officer in the navy. No one, while he was in the service, 
was more frequently called upon to arbitrate personal difficulties, 
and no one's advice on affairs of honour was more generally approved. 

"We have been told that he has been often heard to express the 
opinion that a case can rarely happen in which it is necessary for 
gentlemen to fight a duel ; because the aggressor, if a gentleman, 
will always be willing to make proper explanations, and the offend- 
ing party, if likewise a gentleman, Avill be equally disposed to accept 
as satisfactory such honourable atonement. We believe that Mr. 
Stockton, except on the single occasion which we have before 
related, was never engaged, as principal or second, in any duel 
between American officers. 

The personal combats in the Mediterranean, fortunately, were 
attended with no loss of life. Their effects, hoAvever, were very 
important and useful. They taught the British naval and military 
gentlemen a salutar}'' lesson. Their deportment thenceforward was 
extremely circumspect and respectful towards all Americans. The 
American character for courage, sensibility, and honour, was esta- 
blished. Since this period, no difficulties of a personal nature have 
ever occurred of any serious importance between the American and 
British officers. 

Soon after this, some unfortunate difficulties took place in the 
squadron, which led to numerous courts-martial. Several post-cap- 
tains were suspended from their commands and placed under arrest 
by Commodore Stewart, for the purpose of being sent home. Mr. 
Stockton, having command of the Erie in consequence of the arrest 
of the captain, was selected for the performance of this delicate duty. 
lie was one of the youngest lieutenants in the squadron ; and his 
appointment to this charge may properly be considered as evidence 
of his high standing, and of the confidence reposed in his discretion 
by the commander-in-chief. 

On his way home he ran down the African coast, with the view 
of fallino; in with some of the numerous vessels then engaged, under 
the American flag, in the slaVe-trade, which he was instructed to 
capture if possible. While in the track of those vessels prosecuting 
this illegal traffic, a vessel resembling those usually engaged in this 
trade made her appearance. When first discovered, her course was 



AFFAIR WITH A SPANISH VESSEL. 37 

nearly at right angles to that of the Erie. Instead of pursuing her 
course, she lay to in the path of the Erie, and acted so suspiciously 
that Stockton took her to be a pirate. Towards evening she altered 
her course several points, so as to keep the Erie in sight. Stockton 
determined to overhaul her and ascertain her character. Late at 
night, which was quite dark, he got within hearing distance and 
hailed her. The strange vessel made no reply, though repeatedly 
hailed, but was evidently preparing for action, and in appearance 
seemed to be much larger than the Erie. Stockton now called his 
boarders, had his guns loaded and primed, and ran under the stern 
of the stranger, directing his men at the proper signal to grapple 
and make fast both vessels together. He now hailed again : 
"What ship is that?" and repeated the words "What ship is 
that?" three times. On the third interrogatory, the stranger 
replied, in good English, "What ship is that?" At this moment 
one of the arrested captains came to Stockton, and, presuming on 
his seniority, said, "Mr. Stockton, we have consulted together, and 
see no impropriety in your replying to the stranger and informing 
him of the character of your vessel." Stockton replied to him: — 
" Sir, if you desire to take part in the action which may now occur, 
you can furnish yourselves with arms ; otherwise, you can retire 
below. No vessel on the high seas can threaten any ship under my 
command without disclosing her name, character, and purpose." 
He then ordered the covers to be removed from the lights, and re- 
vealed his crew of boarders armed to the teeth, their sabres reflect- 
ing the blazing torches, and every thing prepared to board his adver- 
sary. He then hailed him for the last time, and said that unless he 
immediately disclosed his character he would board him and ascer- 
tain it for himself. This brought the stranger to his senses, and he 
immediately stated that the strange vessel was a Spanish frigate. 
She carried an armament nearly double that of the Erie. Stockton 
sent Lieutenant McCawley aboard of her to verify this report, with 
directions, if he found it to be true, that he need not be very imr- 
ticular in his examination. The report was ascertained to be true, 
and the Erie pursued her way unmolested. 

On his way home with the arrested captains, the commander of 
the Erie extended to them every mark of respect. He gave up to 
them his cabin, and messed with his own officers, excepting at 
dinner. 

His instructions directed him to take them to the United States 
and report them to the Secretary of the Navy. As they came near 
their destination, he found that the captains expected to go ashore 



38 STRICT EXECUTION OF HIS ORDERS. 

as passengers, free from all restraint. In the most respectful man- 
ner he informed them that they were mistaken ; that he had no ob- 
jections to their going ashore, but that they must give tlieir word 
of honour to hold themselves subject to respond to the summons of 
the Navy Department at some specified place. The captains re- 
ceived this information with apparent astonishment, and bristled 
up with great indignation, and declared their determination to land 
when they pleased and go where they thought proper. Stockton 
again, in a mild but resolute manner, gave them to understand that 
they should not go unless on the terms prescribed. lie promptly 
told them that any attempt on their part to leave the ship without 
his permission should be frustrated at all hazards, even to death. 
The captains ultimately acquiesced, and they parted from the young 
lieutenant with feelings of augmented respect. 



APPLIES FOR ONE OF THE NEW SCHOONERS. S9 



CHAPTER IV. 

STOCKTON SOLICITED BY THE FRIENDS OF THE COLONIZATION SOCIETY TO AID THEM 

APPLIES FOR ONE OF THE NEW SCHOONERS SAILS IN THE ALLIGATOR FOR THE 

WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA — INTERVIEW WITH SIR GEORGE M<^CARTY VISIT TO 

CAPE MESURADO INTERCOURSE WITH NATIVES KING PETER AGREES TO TREAT 

DANGEROUS PALAVER ^A CESSION OF TERRITORY OBTAINED BY TREATY LIBEKIAN 

REPUBLIC. 

Soon after the arrival of Lieutenant Stockton at New York, he 
visited Washington on official business. While there, several of the 
prominent friends of the American Colonization Society — particu- 
larly Judge Washington, president of the Society, and Francis Key, 
Esq., one of the managers — called upon him to express their wishes 
that, in case he could procure a suitable vessel, he would consent, 
with permission from the government, to make an effort to obtain 
for the Society some territory on the western coast of Africa better 
adapted to the purposes of colonization than that which they had 
previously obtained. He agreed, provided he could obtain one of 
the new schooners then being built, that he would endeavour, with 
the approbation of the Navy Department, to do something for the 
Colonization Society. 

Lieutenant Stockton had now (1821) been ten years in the ser- 
vice without any furlough, leave of absence, or relaxation on shore. 
It might be supposed that he would feel some inclination for a little 
repose from the privations and fatigues of the service, and some dis- 
position to enjoy the society of his friends and family at home. But, 
while the path of honourable service was open, such enjoyment did 
not come within the scope of his ambition. Accordingly, he applied 
for one of the new schooners. At first he was informed that it was 
impossible to accede to his request, because many of his senior officei's 
were also applying for these vessels. But, having set his heart on 
obtaining one of them, he stuck to the Secretary (Thompson) with 
such pertinacity, and assigned so many good reasons why his appli- 
cation should be granted, that the Secretary at last yielded to his 
importunities, and gave him the command of the Alligator. 

Having obtained a vessel. Lieutenant Stockton now held several 
conferences with Judge Washington and the managers of the Colo- 



40 SAILS FOR AFRICA IN THE ALLIGATOR. 

nization Society in rilatio^^to his proposed mission to Africa in 
their behalf. Their colony at Sherbro, where first located, had 
proved unfortunate : it was an unhealthy part of the coast, and the 
first colonists had nearly all perished from the effects of the dele- 
terious climate, the few survivors having returned to the United 
States or sought refuge elsewhere. Unless some more favourable 
country could be obtained, the plan of African colonization would 
have to be relinquished, and the benevolent designs of the founders 
of the Society altogether abandoned. Lieutenant Stockton, with 
the consent of the Navy Department, cordially acceded to the wishes 
of the Colonization Society, and agreed to undertake the acquisition 
of some more eligible site on the African coast better adajjted to the 
settlement of colonists from America. But he stipulated with the 
managers of the Society that he should be left to the exercise of his 
best discretion, without being embarrassed and controlled by minute 
instructions ; and, with this understanding, amounting to a carte 
blanche to pursue his own course, he sailed on this expedition in the 
fall of 1821. 

We may here remark that Stockton remained several years in 
command of the schooner Alligator, cruising during that time on 
different coasts, and performing a variety of important duties in the 
service ; and, while no vessel was under better discipline and no 
crew more obedient, the use of the lash was altogether abolished. 
Stockton had always maintained that the lash was not necessary to 
enforce good government on a vessel when the commander was pro- 
perly qualified to govern men. He determined to make a practical 
experiment of his opinions on this subject on the first suitable occa- 
sion. For this purpose, while the Alligator was still in sight of 
shore, he ordered the <'Cat" pitched overboard, and informed his 
men that he intended to exact obedience from them by other means. 
The records of the Navy Department will show that the lash was 
never used by order of the commander of the Alligator while she 
sailed under Stockton. Ilis experience on the Alligator confirmed 
him in the opinions which he had previously entertained respecting 
the inutility of the lash on a man-of-war, and he has been ever since 
the uniform advocate of its abolition. 

Mr, Stockton was a sincere believer in the practicability and im- 
portance of the scheme of colonizing Africa with colonists from 
America — the educated and civilized descendants of the ignorant 
barbarians originally torn by rapine and piracy from their native 
country. He had a high respect for Dr. Samuel Finley, the original 
founder and projector of the American Colonization Society, under 



INTERVIEW WITH THE GOVERNOR OF SIERRA LEONE. 41 

whose tuition he spent some time at Baskingridge, in New Jersey, 
and with whom he had frequently discussed the subject. lie entered 
with zeal into the objects of the Society, and devoted all his energies 
to the successful accomplishment of the expedition. Dr. Ayres, the 
agent of the Colonization Society, was a passenger on the Alligator ; 
and to his pen we are indebted for the only narrative of Stockton's 
exertions to carry out the objects of this mission with which the 
public has been favoured. 

It was thought expedient in the first instance to visit Sierra 
Leone, the British colony on the western coast of Africa, to obtain 
what information could be had there respecting that coast. Upon 
his arrival at that place, Mr. Stockton sought an interA^iew with Sir 
George McCarty, the governor of the colony, and apprised him of 
his objects, and was received in a friendly and hospitable manner. 
The governor informed him that, several hundred miles from Sierra 
Leone, there was a fine country, high and healthy, and better 
adapted than any other known portion of the coast for purposes of 
colonization. But the governor declared that he thought it w^ould 
be impossible to obtain it by peaceable cession from the natives. 
They were among the most ferocious, warlike, and depraved, of all 
the tribes on the coast. They subsisted entirely on the slave-trade 
and its incidents. They were constantly engaged in wars of rapine 
and invasion with the feeble nations of the interior, from whom the 
captives were obtained with which they supplied the slave-ships. 
INIany efforts had been made during the previous century, both by 
the British, French, and Portuguese, to purchase this country from 
the chiefs and head-men ; but they had uniformly refused to 
negotiate for a sale of any part of it, or listen to any propositions 
for such a purpose from any quarter. Messrs. Andrews and Bacon, 
former agents of the Colonization Society, were repulsed with 
severity a year previous, in their efforts to enter into negotiations 
with the savage chiefs. 

These representations were not very flattering ; but Stockton de- 
termined he would take a look at this desirable region, and judge for 
himself whether it was worth the apparently-hopeless task of making 
an attempt for its acquisition. If it were what it was represented 
to be, the difiBculties to be encountered were not so appalling as to 
deter him from some exertion to overcome them. He thought it 
best not to permit his national character to be known on the coast, 
lest the native chiefs should suppose that he entertained some 
designs of establishing an American station in the neighbourhood, 
and thus distrust his overtures. Accordingly, a small vessel, called 



42 INTERVIEW WITH THE NATIVES. 

the Augusta, was hired, and Mr. Stockton and Dr. Ayres sailed on 
a voyage of exploration, and ostensibly for the purposes of traffic. 
As soon as Stockton and Dr. Ayres came in the vicinity of Cape 
Mesurado, they saw that this was the country which they had heard 
described ; and that it was admirably suited for the purposes of the 
Colonization Society. The surface of the territory was high and 
undulating, the soil evidently fertile and well-watered, and every 
appearance indicated a salubrious climate for that latitude. 

Having resolved to make an effort for the purchase of this 
country, Stockton determined to proceed with caution, and become 
acquainted with the inhabitants and their chiefs, and, if possible, 
acquire their confidence before he disclosed the object of his visit. 
lie went ashore, and proposed to trade with them ; he exchanged 
tobacco and other articles of traffic with them, and soon ingratiated 
himself with their head-men by his judicious and prudent deport- 
ment. Availing himself of the aid of interpreters, he conversed 
freely with all, and established himself upon terms of familiar 
social intercourse with them. On every suitable opportunity, he 
descanted on the advantages they would derive from a settlement 
of civilized Africans on their coast, — the important commerce which 
would spring up, the arts which would be introduced among them, 
and the improved cultivation of the soil which would be the certain 
result of such a colony. Gradually he unfolded the scheme of the 
Colonization Society, and all the benefits which would be conferred 
on the native tribes by its success. Without alluding to the sup- 
pression of the slave-trade, he at last created in the minds of many 
of their chiefs a sincere desire to realize all the advantages which 
he had enumerated. 

After thus preparing the minds of the principal men among 
them, and especially of King Peter, as he was called, — the chief 
who exercised the greatest influence over them, — Stockton at last 
proposed directly to King Peter the cession of a certain district of 
country around Cape Mesurado. The proposition was not pressed 
at first with much effort, lest, by the exhibition of any eagerness on 
his part, the savages might suppose that he had come there at first 
for the purpose of purchasing their land. He let it operate on 
their cupidity for some time, apparently indifferent whether they 
agreed to sell or not. At last King Peter, completely won over by 
the attentions and frank, open deportment of Stockton, agreed to 
the proposition as made. A day was appointed when the treaty 
should be consummated, and a place designated where they would 
meet. 



FOLLOWS KING PETER INTO THE INTERIOR. 43 

At the appointed time, Stockton, accompanied by Dr. Ayres, a 
Croo interpreter, and one seaman, Mr. Nicholson, of New Jersey, 
all apparently unarmed, repaired to the ground selected for the in- 
terview. But when they arrived no Peter was visible ; not a trace 
of him could be discovered in the neighbourhood, nor any of his 
people. Finally, it was ascertained that he had gone, with all his 
people, twenty miles into the interior. This failure to keep his 
appointment, and his abrupt departure, wore the appearance of 
King Peter's having been operated upon by some malign influence, 
and that his views had been entirely changed. A mulatto, who had 
seen Stockton at Sierra Leone, was suspected to be the agent who 
had thus influenced Peter. The mulatto was a professional slave- 
trader, and had the sagacity to see that if the Colonization Society 
succeeded in purchasing the country, it would break up his traffic 
in slaves. The mulatto, it was understood, had recently been with 
Peter, and followed him into the interior. After some deliberation, 
Stockton resolved to pursue Peter and hold him to his agreement 
at all hazards. Unless he succeeded now, by reason of Peter's pre- 
vious agreement to sell, he foresaw that it would be impossible at 
any future time to acquire any hold upon him. The adventurous 
Anglo-Saxon, when he obtains a foothold, seldom takes "any step 
backwards." 

Peter had left word for Stockton to follow him to his retreat in 
the interior "if he dare." It was doubtless an enterprise of great 
risk. The route to it lay through swamps and jungles, where the 
white man had never penetrated before, where wild beasts fre- 
quented, and where savages more dangerous, habituated to every 
atrocity, were the only inhabitants. There was no absolute certainty 
that their reception would be friendly, or that it would lead to any 
useful result. They would place themselves completely in the power 
of a savage noted for his treachery, ferocity, and hatred of white 
men. Notwithstanding these obvious suggestions of the peril and 
objections to the excursion, Stockton thought it was his duty to 
proceed while there existed the least hope of success. 

Accordingly they struck boldly into the wilderness, and, after a 
tedious and fatiguing march, came to the village where, from the 
numbers collected, they believed that Peter would be found. Nu- 
merous groups of naked negroes, generally pretty well armed, were 
lounging in the shade of the palm-trees, or collected in groups, and 
apparently discussing the subject which had brought them together. 
They gazed on the strangers with evident indications of surprise, 
as if astonished at their presumption and temerity, and seemed 



44 DANGEROUS PALAVER. 

undetermined whether to greet them as friends or foes. The prin- 
cipal men were soon apprised, however, of the object of the new 
comers and their desire to confer with the king in council. After 
some senseless ceremonials, the concourse of negroes, exceeding 
five hundred in number, upon a signal assembled in a large palaver- 
hall, which seemed appropriated for the use of such convocations. 
Places were assigned and mats spread for the strangers. After 
they were seated, one of the head-men came forward and shook 
them by the hands formally. But Avhen Peter entered, he took no 
notice of them, but proceeded to a seat farthest removed from them 
and sat down — frowning and scowling, and evidently prepared to 
treat the intruding negotiators with indignity, if not outrage. 

After an interval, one of the chiefs, with whom Stockton had been 
previously acquainted, arose and formally presented Stockton to 
Peter. His reception was the reverse of being cordial or gracious. 
Nevertheless he assumed the appearance of being much pleased, 
and with great coolness seated himself on the throne alongside of 
Peter. Peter seemed, however, much disturbed, and was evidently 
in an ill humour. At last, unable to contain himself longer, he 
demanded, in an angry tone, the business of the strangers, and how 
they dared penetrate thus far into his dominions, where white men 
had never before been seen. Stockton was now convinced that 
Peter had been incensed against him by some enemy, and, seeing 
the mulatto in the crowd to whom we have before referred, was 
satisfied that he was the calumniator. Through the mulatto, Peter 
must have ascertained all about the object of his visit. He there- 
fore determined boldly to avow his real character and design, and 
convince Peter that he had not deceived him. Peter, he supposed, 
had been told by the mulatto that Stockton was an officer of the 
United States, and he naturally concluded that, in purchasing land 
in Africa, the United States intended to establish a colonial sta- 
tion similar to that in Sierra Leone, and that the cession of land 
was not sought for the humane purposes represented by Stockton, 
but for those of national aggrandizement. 

Co 

In a calm but decided manner he admitted that he was a naval 
officer, but insisted that, notwithstanding the suspicions which this 
fact might excite, his real objects were such as he originally repre- 
sented. He was proceeding to explain the advantages which the 
natives would gain by such a settlement of their civilized country, 
in their neighbourhood, as he had frequently before described, when 
the mulatto suddenly rushed up, and, clenching his fist before 
him, denounced him as an enemy of the slave-trade, and as having 



DANGEROUS PALAVER. 45 

alreaih^ captured several slave-traders. At this instant the whole 
multitude of armed negroes rose, and with an awful yell clanged 
their instruments of war together, and seemed prepared, with any 
encouragement from their chiefs, to rush upon Stockton and his 
party and cut them to pieces. It appeared to Dr. Ay res that the 
hour for martyrdom had arrived, and he meekly prepared in his own 
mind to submit to the fate which menaced them, and in silent prayer 
lifted up his thoughts to heaven. But a few seconds elapsed while 
the hostile demonstrations were made which it has required so much 
longer to relate. But instantly thereafter, almost with the celerity 
of intuition, Stockton, appreciating the danger which encompassed 
them, decided on the action necessary to avert the impending catas- 
trophe. With that clear, ringing, and overpowering tone of voice 
for which, it is said, he is singularly remarkable,* he commanded 
silence. The trumpet-sound of his voice rose ascendant over the 
tumult around. The multitude were hushed as if by a thunderbolt 

* AVe are indebted to the late Professor Albert B. Dod, of Princeton College, for 
the following anecdote, illustrative of the peculiar and commanding tones of Commo- 
dore Stockton's voice : — 

A serious quarrel existed between the students of the college and the mechanics 
and labouring ^oung men of Princeton. One evening, after twilight, a collision took 
place between some of the parties, which called out the entire force on both sides. 
Tliey were marshalled in opposing ranks in the public highway, in front of the college 
edifice, and, in a high state of excitement, were preparing for a desperate battle. The 
civil authorities and the college faculty in vain interposed to restore peace and avert 
the apparently-inevitable conflict, which must have had a bloody issue, as many on 
each side were armed with pistols, guns, and dirks. The numbers about to engage in 
the fight were not less than one hundred and fifty on each side. Their passions were 
roused, and the most implacable and deadly animosity was manifested towards each 
other. As the riot had reached that point when blows were about to be exchanged, 
the Commodore appeared on the ground, (having been sent for by the Professors.) The 
combatants were drawn up on each side of the turnpike, and were stretched along a 
space of about eighty yards. The roar of three hundred angry voices produced a con- 
fused clamour, which seemed to defy all possibility of any single voice rising so predo- 
minant in sound as to be audible. Yet suddenly the well-known clarion tones of the 
Commodore's voice were heard, piercing with startling pungency every ear and com- 
manding the attention of every hearer. He seemed to throw his voice to the farthest 
extremity of the crowd with as much distinctness as to those close by him. Every 
man on the ground seemed to hear it as addressed to himself. It arrested at once 
the parties on both sides, and brought them to a parley. The Commodore passed 
down through the file of young men, remonstrating with each one personally on his 
conduct, and insisting upon the preservation of peace. With that happy faculty 
which he possesses of infiuencing others whenever he makes a serious eiFort for that 
purpose, he soon succeeded, after ascertaining the original cause of the quarrel, in 
persuading them to settle and compromise their whole difiiculties on terms honourable 
and acceptable to each party. 



4C^ INTIMIDATES THE NATIVES. 

falling among them, and every eye was turned upon the speaker. 
Deliberately drawing a pistol from his breast and cocking it, he gave 
it to Dr. Ayres, saying, Avhile he pointed to the mulatto, " Shoot 
that villain if he opens his lips again !" Then, with the same delibe- 
ration, drawing another pistol and levelling it at the head of King 
Peter, and directing him to sit silent until he heard what was to be 
said, he proceeded to say, in the most solemn manner, appealing 
with uplifted hand to God in heaven to witness the truth of what he 
said, that in all the previous conferences with King Peter and the 
other chiefs he had told them nothing but the truth; that they came 
there as their benefactors, and not as their enemies, to do them good 
and not evil ; that their mission was not to defraud or cheat them, 
but to confer on them and their country inestimable blessings; that 
King Peter might now murder them, but that, if he did so, God on 
high, Avho was now looking down on them, would punish their guilt 
with almighty vengeance ;* that the price demanded for their cession 
of territory had been conceded without aljatement; that they had 
entered into a treaty already ; its particulars were agreed upon, and 
the form of its execution only remained to be complied with ; that, 
well knowing, from the dispositions manifested, that if they did not 
agree to execute the treaty that they intended to kill him and his 
party, he had determined that King Peter himself should be the first 
victim, and that unless he agreed to execute the treaty on the follow- 
ing day his fate was fixed; and, moreover, if he again agreed to 
ratify the treaty and failed to perform his duty, he might expect the 
worst punishment which an angry God could inflict on him and his 
people. 

During this harangue, delivered through an interpreter, the whole 
throng, horror-struck with the danger of their king and awed by 
the majesty of an ascendant mind, sunk gradually, cowering pros- 
trate to the ground. If they had believed Stockton to be an imme- 
diate messenger from heaven, they could not have quailed and 
shrunk and humbled themselves to more humiliating postures, nor 
have seemed more imploringly submissive. Like true savages, the 
transition in their minds from ferocity to abject cowardice was sud- 
den and involuntary. King Peter was quite as much overcome with 
fear as any of the crowd ; and Stockton, as he perceived the effect 



* At this instant, ■when the reference to God was made, the sun, which had pre- 
viously been veiled with a dark cloud, burst forth in full radiance; and, we are told, 
as the savages observed it, they appeared to be convinced that Stockton was really 
invested with divme authority. 



REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA. 47 

of his own intrepidity, pressed the yielding mood of the king only 
with more sternness and vehemence. 

King Peter, with all the chiefs and head-men, agreed and pledged 
themselves, with the utmost sincerity, that they would repair to the 
place originally designated for the execution of the treaty, on the 
following day, and execute it. 

This time the negroes were as good as their word. At the ap- 
pointed time and place the treaty was duly executed, with all the 
usual formalities. 

The territory thus acquired by Lieutenant Stockton is now the 
flourishing republic of Liberia. The American Colonization Society, 
as soon as practicable after the cession, took possession of the 
country, and established their settlement of colonists near the 
Cape Mesurado, on St. Paul's River. The colony, under the discreet 
management of the parent society, has annually increased by immi- 
gration, and spread over additional territory several hundred miles 
along the coast. The ultimate success of the scheme can no longer 
be questioned. The republic of Liberia — the offspring of the infant 
colony at Mesurado — now embraces a population of 200,000 people 
subject to its free and Christianizing influences. 

The dark and hidden mysteries of the vast continent of Africa 
may yet, through the agency of the Liberians, be revealed, and the 
blessings of true religion and civilization be extended to the 
benighted millions known to swarm in primeval ignorance and 
barbarity throughout its sequestered interior. 

The name of Stockton will be associated in history with the 
names of the founders of this prosperous State, for to his courage, 
prudence, and valour, its original acquisition must be ascribed.* 

* See speeches of Commodore Stockton on Colonization, Appendix E. 



48 SAILS FOR THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER V. 

STOCKTON SAILS FOR THE UNITED STATES — CAPTURES THE MARRIANA FLORA — PKO- 
CKEDIXGS IX COURT — SUPREME COURT SUSTAINS THE CAPTURE — STOCKTON'S IN- 
STRUCTIONS IlESl'ECTING THE SLAVE-TRADE — HIS OPINIONS AS TO THERE BEING 
NO LEGAL PROPERTY IN NEW-MADE SLAVES ON THE COAST OF AFRICA — CAl'TUKES 

THE JEUNE EUGENIE PROCEEDINGS IN COURT CELEBRATED OPINION OF JUDGE 

STORY, SUSTAINING THE CAPTURE ON GROUNDS OF UNIVERSAL JUSTICE AND THE 
LAW OF NATURE AND NATIONS FONDNESS FOR THE SPORTS OF THE TCUF. 

Soon after the purchase of the territory of Liberia, Lieutenant 
Stockton sailed for the United States. 

While on the coast of Africa, or going from or returning home, 
he captured several vessels. As important principles of the law of 
nations Avere involved in the justification of these captures, and as 
they well illustrate the moral intrepidity, sagacity, and other dis- 
tinguishing traits of Stockton, they will merit the careful considera- 
tion of the reader. On the 5th of November, 1821, as the Alligator 
was pursuing her course with a favourable breeze, a strange sail was 
observed, whose course when first seen, if continued, would have 
crossed that of the Alligator nearly at right angles, long before the 
Alligator had arrived at the point of intersection. The stranger, 
instead of continuing her course, lay to at that point, and awaited 
the approach of the American schooner. She showed no national 
colours, but had a flag hoisted in the usual position of signals of 
distress. Stockton, supposing the stranger to be some merchant- 
man short of water or provisions, or else desirous of comparing 
longitude, directed a barrel of pork and several casks of water to 
be got up in readiness, so that no unnecessary delay might be 
incurred. Having given these orders, he went below to the cabin 
and sat down to work up his longitude to that moment of time. 
"While thus engaged, he heard a shot pass through his mainsail. 
Lnmediately dropping his pen, he returned to his deck, and found 
the Alligator within gunshot of a vessel evidently larger, and, judging 
from the size of the shot which had perforated the mainsail, carry- 
ing a much heavier armament than the xVlligator. 

Stockton told his men to put the provisions and water they had on 
deck below, and bring up the shot, which he said was better adapted 
to the occasion, and then ordered them to quarters. The AUi- 



CAPTURE OF THE MARRIANNA FLORA. 49 

gator's guns were of no use at the distance at which she was when 
the stranger commenced the attack. Stockton, having shotted his 
guns, to avoid the raking shot of the enemy made all his men lie 
flat on deck. Having thus secured his men, Stockton, in full uni- 
form, took his seat on the hammock-cloths and guided the vessel, 
and in this manner approached his adversary without firing a shot. 

The wind was light and bafiiing, sometimes entirely dying away 
and then again slightly breezing up. For several hours he was 
thus the target of the stranger, who kept up an uninterrupted fire, 
cutting the sails and rigging of the Alligator and wounding several 
men. 

Just as the Alligator had got within pistol-shot, the purser of the 
ship ran up to Stockton, and said that the strange vessel had 
hoisted Portuguese colours. "Very well," said Stockton; "then 
we'll make her haul them down again." And now, having got 
sufficiently near for the guns of the Alligator to do the required 
work, and having reached a position in which they could rake the 
enemy's deck, they poured forth a volley which swept out of sight 
every living object on the stranger's upper-works, — her men who 
were unhurt quitting their guns and running below. The Alligator 
then, luffing round, delivered her whole broadside, repeating broad- 
side after broadside, until, after twenty minutes, the flag of the 
stranger was struck. 

On being hailed, her captain came on deck and informed Stockton 
that his prize was the Portuguese letter-of-marque Marrianna 
Flora, of twenty-two guns. Being ordered aboard the Alligator, he 
said, in excuse for his attack, that he supposed her to be a pirate. 
Stockton asked him why he had not taken the trouble to inform 
himself of the character of the Alligator, and why he showed 
colours of distress? To these questions the Portuguese captain 
could give no satisfactory reply. Stockton was of opinion, upon a 
full consideration of all the circumstances, that the Portuguese had 
intended to commit an act of piracy, and that if the Alligator had 
been an unarmed merchantman she would have been captured and 
plundered. He determined, therefore, to put a prize crew on the 
Marrianna Flora and send her to the United States. 

We may here state that, when the case came before the District 
Court of the United States at Boston, Stockton not being there to 
give the suit his attention, the capture was declared illegal, the 
Marrianna Flora ordered to be surrendered to the representatives 
of her owner, and damages awarded, to a large amount. As soon 
as Stockton heard of this result, he appealed to the Circuit Court 

4 



50 PROCEEDINGS IN COURT. 

of the United States, and engaged Mr. Webster to conduct liis 
cause. The judgment of the District Court was reversed. The 
case was then taken up to the Supreme Court of the United States, 
and the decision of the Circuit Court sustained. The report of the 
case will be found in 11 Wheaton. The Marrianna Flora was, 
however, ultimately given up on application from the Portuguese 
government. She was surrendered from comity, and not on the 
ground that her capture was not legal or proper. 

Judge Story, delivering the opinion of the Supreme Court in re- 
lation to the case of the Marrianna Flora, says, (11 Wheaton, p. 50,) 
" Upon the whole, we are of opinion that the conduct of Lieu- 
tenant Stockton, in approaching and ultimately in subduing the 
Marrianna Flora, was entirely justifiable. The first wrong was done 
by her; and his own subsequent acts were a just defence and vindi- 
cation of the rights and honour of his country." " If, (p. 52,) Lieu- 
tenant Stockton had acted with gross negligence or malignity, and 
with a wanton abuse of power, there might be strong grounds on 
which to rest this claim of damages. But it is conceded on all 
sides, and in this opinion the court concurs, that he acted with 
honourable motives and from a sense of duty to his government. 
He thought the aggression was piratical, and that it was an indig- 
nity to the national flag utterly inexcusable. 

" We are then to consider the real difficulties of Lieutenant 
Stockton's situation. An attack had been made upon a national 
:ship under his command, without cause. It was a hostile act, — an 
indignity to the nation and trespass upon its rights and sovereignty. 
It was not an accidental, but a meditated act, not necessarily carry- 
ing its own excuse along with it, but susceptible of different inter- 
pretations. It was not an affair in which he was at liberty to con- 
sult his own wishes or honour merely ; although a brave and distin- 
guished officer might naturally feel some solicitude to preserve his 
high reputation untarnished in the eyes of his government. He 
was bound to look to the rights of his country. He might well 
hesitate in assuming the arbitration of national wrongs. He might 
well feel a scrupulous delicacy in undertaking to waive any claim 
which the government had authority to enforce ; or to defeat any 
redress which it might choose to seek ; or to prevent any inquiries 
which, through its established tribunals, it might think fit to institute 
in respect to his conduct or that of the offending vessel. Considera- 
tions of this nature could not but weigh heavily upon the mind of 
a gallant officer ; and they are not unfit to be entertained by this 
court in forming its own judgment. 



CAPTURE OF THE JEUNE EUGENIE. 51 

" It is, also, fui'ther to be observed that the case was confessedly 
new in its character and circumstances. The researches of counsel, 
throughout the progress of this protracted controversy, have not 
discovered any case which, in point of law, can govern this. If it 
is new here, it may well be deemed to have been new and embarrass- 
ing to Lieutenant Stockton. In such a case, it is not matter of^X 
surprise that he should come to the conclusion that it was not proper 
to take upon himself the responsibility of a final decision, but to 
confide the honour of the nation, as well as the rights of the other 
party, to judicial decision. No inference is attempted to be drawn 
that his acts were intentionally oppressive and harsh ; and it would 
be going a great way to declare that an exercise of honest discre- 
tion, in a case of wrong on the other side, ought to draw after it the 
penalty of damages." 

On a subsequent cruise in the Alligator on the coast of Africa, 
Stockton captured the Jeune Eugenic, a French slaver. His in- 
structions directed him to capture all vessels, sailing under the 
American flag, found engaged in prosecuting the slave-trade. 
But he discovered that, if he confined himself to the letter of his 
instructions, his presence there was of no sort of use; as ev^ry 
slaver, as soon as the Alligator was seen, was sure to exhibit any . 
other colour but the American. Upon full reflection, he came to the 
conclusion that slaves on that coast, found on any vessel bound to 
the several slave-markets, could not be lawfully claimed as property 
by those who held them in custody. They Mere held in durance in 
violation of the law of nature and of the civilized world ; and the 
vessel which held them could be protected by the flag of no country 
which had prohibited the slave-trade. A vessel with white men in 
their situation, forcibly torn from their country, and, against their 
consent, being transported to be sold as slaves, no matter by what 
flag covered, would, in his estimation, be lawful prize to any ship-of- 
war belonging to any civilized nation which cherished or respected 
the laws of God and humanity. The fact of the slaves on this coast, 
thus borne away by rapine and violence, being African negroes, in 
no degree modified the fundamental principles of justice applicable 
to the circumstances of the case. Firmly believing the sound- 
ness of these principles, he was determined that they should be 
tested in the courts of the United States. The Jeune Eugenie was 
captured, therefore, though not sailing under the American flag. 
She was captured on the ground that her cargo and her voyage 
made her, ipso facto, a pirate. The nation whose flag she boro 
had interdicted the slave-trade; and that flag, therefore, could not 



62 CELEBRATED DECISION OF JUDGE STORY. 

protect her in a trade declared to be illegal by the government of 
the country to which she belonged. At the time he sent the Jeune 
Eu().enie to the United States, Stockton wrote a letter to Mr. Web- 
ster, in which he set forth briefly the principles of law by virtue 
of which he believed the capture justifiable. We have been informed 
that Mr. Webster has said that he argued the case of the Jeune Eu- 
genie from this letter as his brief. The opinion of the Circuit 
Court of the United States, sustaining the capture of this vessel, 
has long been celebrated for the broad and enlightened doctrines of 
humanity and justice which it declared and vindicated. It will be 
found in 2 Mason's C. C. Reports. Judge Story, who delivered the 
opinion of the court, thus enunciates those broad principles of na- 
tional law on which Lieutenant Stockton justified the capture of the 
Jeune Eugenie: — 

" Now, in respect to the African slave-trade, — such as it has been 
described to be, and in fact is, in its origin, progress, and consum- 
mation, — it cannot admit of serious question that it is founded in 
a violation of some of the first principles which ought to govern 
nations. It is repugnant to the great principles of Christian duty, 
the dictates of natural religion, the obligations of good faith and 
morality, and the eternal maxims of social justice. When any 
trade can be truly said to have these ingredients, it is impossible 
that it can be consistent with any system of law that purports to 
rest on the authority of reason or revelation ; and it is suflBcient to 
stamp any trade as interdicted by public law, when it can be justly 
affirmed that it is repugnant to the general principles of justice and 
humanity. 

" It is of this traffic, thus carried on and necessarily carried on, 
beginning in lawless wars and rapine and kidnapping, and ending 
in disease and death and slavery — it is of this traffic, in the aggre- 
gate of its accumulated wrongs, that I would ask if it be consistent 
with the law of nations. It is not by breaking up the elements of 
the case into fragments, and detaching them one from another, that 
we are to be asked of each separately if the law of nations prohibits 
it. We are not to be told that war is lawful, and slavery lawful, 
and plunder lawful, and the taking away of life is lawful, and the 
selling of human beings is lawful. Assuming that they are so under 
circumstances, it establishes nothing; it does not advance one jot 
to the support of the proposition that a traffic that involves them 
all, that is unnecessary, unjust and inhuman, is countenanced by 
the eternal law of nature on which rests the law of nations. 

" I think, therefore, that I am justified in saying that at the 



CRUISE AGAINST THE WEST INDIA PIRATES. 63 

present moment the traffic is vindicated by no nation, and is ad- 
mitted by almost all commercial nations as incurably mijust and 
inhuman. It appears to me, therefore, that, in an American court 
of judicature, I am bound to consider the trade an offence against 
the universal law of society, and, in all cases where it is not pro- 
tected by a foreign government, to deal with it as an offence carry- 
ing with it the penalty of confiscation. 

"After listening to the very able, eloquent, and learned argu- 
ments delivered at the bar on this occasion, — after weighing the 
authorities which bear on the case with mature deliberation, — after 
reflecting anxiously and carefully upon the general principles which 
may be drawn from the law of nations to illustrate or confirm them, 
I have come to the conclusion that the slave-trade is a trade pro- 
hibited by universal law and by the law of France ; and that, 
therefore, the claim of the asserted French owners must be re- 
jected." 

Lieutenant Stockton was the first in the United States who ever 
asserted and acted upon these broad and fundamental principles 
of natural law. It was a bold and decided assumption of responsi- 
bility, which was as creditable to his moral courage as to the accu- 
racy of his perceptions of justice. 

On his return from his second cruise on the coast of Africa, 
Stockton was ordered to the West Indies, to check the depredations 
of the numerous pirates then cruising in the neighbouring seas. 
This duty he performed with all the ardour, vigour, and enterprise 
by which his character was distinguished. 

The pirates, whose residence was on the coast of Cuba, would lie 
in wait along-shore for their prey, and, whenever a vessel was dis- 
covered upon which they could bring to bear superior numbers, 
they would put off in their boats, surprise and murder the crew, 
and take possession of the ship. Stockton believed that the only 
true course to contend with such outlaws was to pursue them on 
shore and extirpate them wherever found. If the Spanish authori- 
ties were unable to restrain the inhabitants of Cuba from such 
atrocities, they had no reason to complain if, in hot pursuit, their 
shores were invaded for the purpose of chastising the enemies of 
all mankind. 

Stockton, accordingly, whenever he discovered a piracy to be com- 
mitted, and had made pursuit of the perpetrators, invariably followed 
them ashore, and hunted them down to their dens and hiding-places. 
In this way he gave a serious check to their nefarious depredations, 
and inspired them with a salutary terror of American retribution. 



64 FONDNESS FOR THE SPORTS OF THE TURF. 

Returning to the United States, he was ordered South, with a 
party to survey the Southern Coast, in 1823-4. While thus en- 
gaged, he was married, at Charleston, South Carolina, to Miss Maria 
Potter, only daughter of the late John Potter. 

In 1826, after continuing in service for near sixteen years with 
out furlough or leave of absence, he considered himself entitled to 
some repose. He accordingly settled at Princeton, New Jersey, 
and, in consideration of his long-continued and arduous services, 
was suffered by the Department to remain at home for some time, 
though not actually on furlough. 

One of his first acts upon his return to New Jersey was the 
organization of the New Jersey Colonization Society, of which he 
was the first president. This Society still exists in flourishing con- 
dition, and has been the means of great usefulness to the colony of 
Liberia. It has recently received liberal assistance from the Legis- 
lature of the State ; and it may be said, without exaggeration, that 
there is no State in which the colonization cause has warmer friends, 
or where it is more popular. 

At this period of his life Captain Stockton indulged in the plea- 
sures of the turf. He imported from England some of the finest 
stock of blooded horses which have been introduced into the country. 
Their progeny still maintain by their general success the reputation 
and value of their sires. Among the most celebrated of his importa- 
tions, it is only necessary to name Trustee, Langford, and Diana. 
Captain Stockton is supposed to have been quite successful on the 
turf. 

Langford, one of his favourite horses, won a produce-stake of ten 
thousand dollars, on the Washington course, over a good field of 
horses, amono; which was said to be a famous racer of General Jack- 
son while he was President, though he was known as the owner only 
to a few of the initiated. 

The sportsmen, familiar with the merits of General Jackson's 
horse, were confident of success, and bet high in his favour. A few 
days before the race, Captain Stockton's trainer fell sick, and, un- 
able to supply his place, the captain came on himself and took the 
place of \he trainer, superintending minutely the grooming of his 
horse until the day of the race. A day or two before the race, 
Langford had the ill luck to fall lame suddenly while galloping 
around the course. These incidents inspired the friends of his 
competitors with additional confidence ; and, though the lameness 
disappeared immediately after its cause was ascertained, (a piece of 



SUCCESS OP Stockton's horse. 55 

gravel,) and was removed, the jockeys pretty generally bet on the 
General's horse. 

An immense concourse of people assembled on the race-course on 
the day of trial. The President's horse was the general favourite, 
and odds were freely given by those who bet on the field. So con- 
fident were those who bet on the General's horse of his success, that 
the floor of the ballroom, where the annual ball of the season was 
given, was ornamented with a full-length portrait of the horse. To 
the astonishment of the crowd, however, Captain Stockton's horse 
proved to be the winner. 

After Stockton's sudden and unexpected departure for the Pacific 
in 1845, and during his absence in California, his stud was broken 
up and all his racers sold, and, we believe, ever since he has en- 
tirely relinquished the sports of the turf. 



56 REORGANIZATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES. 



CHAPTER VI. 

REORGANIZATION OF PARTIES IN 1826-7 INDEPENDENT ACTION OF MR. STOCKTON 

HIS RECTITUDE AS A POLITICIAN — THE FEDERALISTS HIS OPINIONS OF THEIR PRO- 
SCRIPTION MR. ADAMS PLEDGES NOT TO PROSCRIBE GENERAL JACKSON's ADVICE 

TO MR. MONROE — STATE OF PARTIES IN NEW JERSEY STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVEN- 
TION MR. STOCKTON APPOINTED A DELEGATE — HIS PROMPT PUNISHMKNT OF AN 

INSULT — CONVENTION DISSOLVED SUCCESS OP THE ADAMS TICKET MR. ADAMS's 

VIOLATION OF HIS PLEDGES — MR. STOCKTON DENOUNCES HIM SUPPORTS GENERAL 

JACKSON IN 18U8 CONSTRUCTION OF DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL FINANCIAL 

DIFFICULTIES — MR. STOCKTON GOES TO LONDON AND SECURES A LOAN — MR. STOCK- 
TON AN ANTI-MONOPOLIST — CANAL COMPLETED ITS NATIONAL IMPORTANCE NEW 

JERSEY INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS TRANSIT DUTIES NO TAX ON CITIZENS OF OTHEE 

STATES PARALLEL BETWEEN ME. STOCKTON AND DE WITT CLINTON LETTER ON 

PUBLIC WORKS. 

The years 1826-7 were distinguished by the incipient reorganiza- 
tion of parties on a basis somewhat different from that on which 
they had previously stood. A new era in the political history of 
the United States now commenced. From the administration of 
General Washington to the Treaty of Ghent, the Federal and Demo- 
cratic parties were at issue chiefly in relation to our foreign policy. 
But, after the restoration of peace in 1815, new questions arose, and 
in a few years the old lines of political difi'erence were in a great mea- 
sure obliterated. As it respects these new questions — relating to 
the encouragement of domestic manufactures and the prosecution 
of internal improvements — Federalists and Democrats concurred or 
differed without reference to party. The representatives of the 
commercial interests of the North acted in co-operation with the 
South ; while the great body of politicians who represented the in- 
terior districts of the Northern and Middle States, together with 
those from the West, sustained the policy of protection and that of 
the prosecution of internal improvements. During tlie whole of 
Mr. Monroe's eight years' administration, notwithstanding this state 
of things, and notwithstanding the Federal party had ceased all 
opposition to the government, and had entirely relinquished its 
national organization, nevertheless Federalists continued to be ex- 
cluded from office, and were as rigidly proscribed by the State 
governments which were controlled by the Democrats, as if they 
were still acting in open hostility to the Democratic party. 



Jackson's advice to monroe. 57 

The consequence of the dissolution of national parties then was 
the same as that which has followed the dissolution of national 
parties in our own times. Geographical preferences and sectional 
animosities soon divided politicians who had before acted in concert. 

The succession to the Presidency, in the latter part of Mr. Monroe's 
administration, became the absorbing subject of political attention. 
The candidates for the Presidency in 1824 were all members of the 
Democratic party, distinguished for talents and their public services ; 
but they were all candidates supported principally by that section 
of country in which they had resided. The presidential contest of 
1824 was, with some slight exceptions, a sectional contest, in which 
the recent differences between Federalists and Democrats were to- 
tally disregarded. The North presented Mr. Adams ; the South 
brought forward Mr. Crawford and Mr. Calhoun, though the latter 
soon retired from the controversy in favour of General Jackson, who 
was a native of the same State as Mr. Calhoun. The Southwest 
and West were divided between General Jackson and Mr. Clay. 
The proneness of the people to geographical divisions is, therefore, 
strikingly illustated by this portion of our political history. 

Mr. Adams, although extremely obnoxious to the Federal party, 
which he left soon after it fell into the minority, notwithstanding, 
derived his chief support from those very States of New England 
in which the Federal party had always been most powerful ; and 
the caucus nomination of the Democratic party, though made in 
strict conformity with Democratic usages, was treated with contempt 
by a large majority of those who had always been recognised as 
the leaders and oracles of that party. The caucus nominee, Mr. 
Crawford, received the smallest number of votes of any candidate 
who was returned to Congress to be voted for by that body. The 
sectional preferences of the people over rode all other considerations, 
and entirely ignored the obligations of party. As we have ob- 
served, we are witnessing this political phenomenon in our day. 

Mr. Adams received in the New England States the united sup- 
port of Federalists and Democrats. In the Middle States, however, 
especially in New Jersey, a large number of Federalists supported 
General Jackson. The grounds for this preference of the Federal- 
ists (there being no candidate for the Presidency residing in any of 
those States) was the celebrated letter of General Jackson to Mr. 
Monroe, advising him to appoint a Federalist as a member of his 
cabinet, and, as the Federalists were no longer organized as an oppo- 
sition party, to receive into his confidence meritorious statesmen 
who had formerly belonged to the Federal party. This advice of 



58 STOCKTON ^^ECTITUDE AS A POLITICIAN. 

General Jackson, far in advance of the public sentiment of liia 
party, was dictated by those enlarged, patriotic, and magnanimous 
feelings which have contributed quite as much as his achievements 
in the field to exalt our estimate of his abilities an<l virtues. 

In order to secure his election by the House of Representatives, 
it became necessary for Mr. Adams to give pledges that he would 
abolish the proscription of the Federalists. The balance of power 
in Congress was held in the representation of three States by Fede- 
ralists. The votes of these gentlemen could have elected General 
Jackson as well as Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams, it is charged, gave the 
necessary pledges, and was elected. 

An opposition was immediately organized against the administra- 
tion of Mr. Adams, and a disposition manifested to oppose it with- 
out regard to its measures or principles. 

It became obvious to all who were acquainted with Captain 
Stockton, as he was then called, that a man of his activity of mind, 
decision, and force of character, would soon obtain weight and 
consideration among the people when he became known to them. 
EflForts were very naturally made, therefore, by leading politicians, 
to enlist him in their respective parties. 

The conduct of Stockton at this period of his life, when called 
upon for the first time to act with reference to politics by the soli- 
citations of distinguished politicians, strikingly illustrates one re- 
markable feature of his character, and that is, his complete inde- 
pendence. If there is a man who invariably decides all important 
questions respecting his own course of action for himself, it is Com- 
modore Stockton. He is influenced neither by friend nor foe, nor 
by his interests, and much less by his fear of consequences, in 
making up his mind to do what he considers proper. When called 
upon to act, he is only solicitous to know what is right, what is con- 
sistent with honour, duty, and patriotism, and he decides without 
reference to the consequences as they may affect himself, whether 
for good or for evil. 

He had never participated in the fierce conflicts so acrimoniously 
conducted between the Federalists and Democrats. He had entered 
the navy at a period of life which precluded the indulgence of any 
sympathy with political parties. When he returned to his country, 
he found that, although the Federalists had ceased all opposition to 
successive Democratic administrations, they were still proscribed as 
if they were aliens ; all oflices of distinction were closed upon 
them. In New Jersey, the cff"ect was the proscription of the most 
talented and patriotic men in the State. In the State of New 



MR. ADAMS PLEDGES NOT TO PROSCRIBE. 59 

Jersey, the course of the Federalists during the war of 1812 had 
not been factious. Many of them had volunteered and nobly 
stepped into the ranks of the army or militia at the first appearance 
of danger. He thought that the continued proscription of such 
men was unjust and injurious to the country. Accordingly, when 
solicited to espouse the cause of Mr. Adams, his first response was 
that he would support no administration which would not raise the 
ban of that odious proscription which ostracized from the public 
service the men who were among the founders and fathers of the 
republic. He was informed by gentlemen in the confidence of the 
President that it was his intention no longer to recognise the dis- 
tinction of Federalist and Democrat. Mr. Adams, he was informed, 
owed his election to his having given such a distinct pledge. It 
was said in the cotemporary papers that a letter containing in black 
and white that pledge* of Mr. Adams was submitted to Captain 
Stockton. 

He had the sagacity, however, to perceive that, though Mr. Adams 
had given such a pledge, it was by no means certain that he had the 
moral courage to redeem it. He had called no Federalist into his 
cabinet, nor had he in any way given any evidence of his disposition 
to observe it by any of his appointments. It was evident that par- 
ties were in a state of transition, and no peculiar principles had yet 
(in the spring of 1826) been developed, either by the administration 
of Mr. Adams or by his opponents, which would justify, in the 
opinion of Stockton, his attaching himself to one or the other pre- 
maturely. He would not, therefore, enlist in favour of Mr. Adams's 
re-election nor for the election of General Jackson. He took the 
position that Mr. Adams's administration should be tested by its 
merits, and explicitly protested that any support he might give his 
administration should not preclude his opposing the re-election of the 
incumbent if his measures or principles should prove justly obnoxious 
to censure. 

In order that his peculiar position might be vindicated, if ne- 
cessary, he established a newspaper at Princeton, in the columns of 
which he declared that his support of Mr. Adams was contingent on 
his good behaviour in office. Many of the leading editorial articles 
in that paper were written by Captain Stockton, and exercised an 
important influence on public opinion in New Jersey. 

For many years a Democratic State convention had assembled 
biennially at Trenton, for the purpose of nominating candidates for 

* See National Gazette, edited by Robert Walsh, for the fall of 1826. 



60 STATE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION OF NEW JERSEY. 

Contxrcss, to be voted for on a general ticket. The ticket thus nomi- 
nated was always sure to be elected, such was the decided prepon- 
derance of the Democratic party. 

In the year 1826, this convention assembled in August, and the 
supporters of Adams and of Jackson respectively made great exer- 
tions to elect delegates to it. Whichever party obtained control of 
this convention would have ostensibly the prestige of the Democratic 
party in its favour. The effort was, in the first instance, to acquire 
the ascendency in the Democratic county conventions, which selected 
the delegates to the State convention. In some of the counties, 
double delegations were returned, each claiming to be the pure 
Democratic representatives. They assembled at Trenton on the 
20th day of September. The Adams and the Jackson party were 
both nearly equal in strength. 

Captain Stockton was elected a delegate from the county of So- 
merset, in which he resided. On the evening previous to the con- 
vention, an informal meeting of the Adams delegates was held. At 
that meeting it became apparent to the Adams men that they had 
in Stockton a leader in whom entire confidence could be placed, and 
it was agreed that he should be supported, in every move, with the 
whole strength of the party. He perceived, from the spirit of over- 
bearing and impetuous determination exhibited by the Jackson 
party, that they would probably put all rules and precedents at 
defiance, and attempt to carry their measures by mere numerical 
force, without regard to justice or usage. He therefore deter- 
mined to give them every facility for the indulgence of this spirit, 
well knowing that it would result either in breaking up the con- 
vention in confusion, or else in a reaction among the people 
fatal to those who should violate the usages of the Democratic 
party. 

As soon as the convention assembled. Captain Stockton nomi- 
nated as president of the convention a leading Jackson delegate, 
and subsequently another Jackson delegate as secretary, who were 
elected without opposition. This rather surprised the Adams men 
who were not in the secret. Stockton voted also in favour of re- 
ceiving the Jackson delegates, whose seats were disputed, from 
several counties, until the reception of the delegates from Cumber- 
land became the question. 

The Adams delegates from this county, according to Democratic 
usage, were the regularly-appointed delegates, and should have been 
received. But the Jackson men, now feeling strong enough to defy 
their opponents without any respect for their rights, rejected the 



HE PUNISHES AN INSULT. 61 

Adams delegation from Cumberland and received the Jackson dele- 
gates. 

A flagrant act of injustice had now been perpetrated ; and Captain 
Stockton determined that upon this act he would make a case for 
the dissolution of the convention which the people would justify 
and vindicate, or that he would compel his opponents to rescind 
their vote and retrace their steps. He accordingly proceeded to 
address them in a bold and exciting manner, denouncing their vio- 
lation of Democratic usages, and stigmatizing their exercise of power 
as arbitrary and tyrannical. 

Several of the most prominent Jackson leaders were in the lobby, 
at this time, and some of them said audibly to their partisans that 
Stockton must be stopped and put down, or that he would break up 
the convention. While he was thus haranguing the convention, he 
saw one of the delegates who had been in conference with the Jack- 
son leaders in the lobby leave them and enter the area in front of 
the President's chair, immediately opposite his own position. This 
delegate had, on the previous day, used ofiensive language in pre- 
sence of Captain Stockton, which he did not resent at the time, 
partly because the offender was visibly intoxicated, and partly be- 
cause he was ignorant that Captain Stockton was present. The 
delegate approached, as we said, the speaker, until within a few feet 
of him, and then, in a loud and violent tone, said, "What right has 
that damned rascal here with the government's commission in his 
pocket? Turn him out." 

With that intuitive sagacity for which he is so distinguished on 
emergencies of importance. Captain Stockton saw that this public 
insult was designed to confuse and arrest him. Those who had 
prompted it calculated that Stockton would sit down and wait till 
after the convention should call the offender to account ; in the mean 
time, having silenced the chief champion of the Adams men, they 
would have every thing their own way. But they were entirely igno- 
rant of the man upon whom they experimented. He seized upon the 
occurrence as the consummation of violence and aggression which he 
had predicted would hurry his opponents to the commission of some 
great offence which would justify the dissolution of the convention. 
He determined, with that promptitude and decision of character 
which belongs to him, to punish a public insult in a public manner, 
on the spot and at the moment when it was offered. Without the 
hesitation of a second, he stepped across the intervening platform, 
and with a single blow prostrated the offender to the floor ; then, 
quickly resuming his place, in a voice which commanded the atten- 



62 THE ^VENTION DISSOLVED. 

tion of the now tumultuous crowd, he proceeded to vindicate what he 
had done. But no sooner had he thus punished liis assailant than 
the whole convention of delegates sprang to their feet, the lobby 
rushed in upon the floor of the delegates, — some struggling, appa- 
rently, to assail Stockton personally, others to ascertain the facts. 

Stockton's friends crowded around him, resolved to defend him 
to the last. One of them offered him a dirk, but he put it aside, 
saying, "It is brains, not arms, which are required now," At one 
time several orators were speaking together, and a Babel of excite- 
ment, uproar, and agitation was exhibited, perfectly indescribable. 
All this occurred in a few moments of time ; when Stockton, per- 
ceiving that he could not be heard from the floor, sprang on a table 
and continued his address. He spoke with regret of the necessity 
which devolved upon him to punish such an insult as that which he 
had received immediately, and he appealed to his hearers, as 
Jerseymen and men of honour, if it was possible for him without dis- 
gracing his uniform to have done otherwise. His hearers were 
gradually softened and mollified; and, as their temper cooled, Stock- 
ton concluded by a motion that the convention should adjourn sine 
die, which Avas carried by acclamation. He then gave notice of a 
place and the time of the day when the Adams delegates would 
meet and form a ticket. 

It is to be regretted that the speech delivered on this occasion by 
Captain Stockton has not been preserved. It was undoubtedly one 
of the most powerful addresses ever made to a popular assembly in 
New Jersey, and raised him at once to the foremost rank among the- 
political men of the State. 

Thus, owing to his tact and presence of mind, his political oppo- 
nents were balked of their expected triumph, — they lost the prestige 
of making their nomination under the forms of the old Democratic 
party; while the friends of Stockton were saved from an ignominious 
defeat, and entered the field upon equal terms with their adversaries. 
The election came on the second Tuesday of October, and resulted in 
the election of the Adams candidates for Congress by a decided 
majority. 

An occasion now happened by which Mr. Adams's fidelity to his 
pledges respecting the Federalists could be eff'ectually tested. The 
oflSce of District Judge of the United States for New Jersey became 
vacant by death, and an appointment was required to fill the 
vacancy. The names of three candidates who had been Federalists, 
and whose qualifications were of the highest order, were forwarded 
to the President. 



MK. ADAMS VIOLATES HIS PLEDGES. 63 

At the head of the list was the name of Richard Stockton, who, 
for a whole generation, had stood unrivalled, the foremost lawyer at 
the bar of New Jersey. Chief Justice Kirkpatrick, who for 
twenty-one years had sat as Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of 
New Jersey, was also pressed upon Mr. Adams for this appointment. 
Aaron Ogden, also a distinguished lawyer, and a soldier of the Revo- 
lution, was a candidate likewise. But the gentleman preferred for 
the honourable post of District Judge of the United States had never 
been professionally educated as a lawyer, and on that ground Mr. 
Monroe, several years previously, had refused to appoint him to the 
same office, but conferred it on Judge Pennington. The appointee 
of Mr. Adams was the only candidate notoriously destitute of the 
proper qualifications for this office. But he had for many years 
been the leader of the old Democratic party ; and Mr. Adams, un- 
fortunately for himself, seemed more desirous of making political 
capital by means of this appointment than of properly administering 
the trust with which the Constitution invested him of dispensing his 
official patronage for the benefit of the people. Mr. Rossell was 
appointed. Mr. Adams's pledges were violated, palpably, without 
excuse or justification. 

Immediately after the New Jersey appointment, the vacancy in the 
Southern District of New York was filled by Judge Betts ; and the 
friends of Chancellor Kent, and D. B. Ogden, and Josiah Hoflfman, — 
all eminent lawyers and Federalists, — were chagrined and disgusted 
by the evident determination of Mr. Adams to continue the proscrip- 
tion of the Federalists, though his administration had been indebted 
for its existence to them. Other appointments were made soon 
after, showing "a foregone conclusion' that Mr. Adams, instead of 
adapting himself to the new order of things, which indicated the 
total disruption and dissolution of both the old parties, was vainly 
attempting to preserve their vitality by courting one at the ex- 
pense of the other, in utter contempt of his pledges to his friends 
and his duty to the country. 

Captain Stockton, having originally supported Mr. Adams's admi- 
nistration upon the principle that it would cease to proscribe the 
Federalists who were meritorious and were true to the Constitution 
and the Union, now perceiving that he had been deceived^romptly 
and abruptly did as he originally said he would do wheneWr he had 
reason to doubt the honesty or condemn the acts of M^MLdams. 
He ceased, therefore, to rendemany aid or assistance to tSRidams 
administration. ^L 

As the measures and principres of Mr. Adams were developed, his 



64 SUPPOI^S GENERAL JACKSON. 

latitudinarian views in relation to the construction of the Constitu- 
tion, to internal improvements and State rights, Stockton soon per- 
ceived the necessity of resisting his re-election. In 1827, the sec- 
tional strife of 1823-4 had entirely ceased. The people were again 
divided into only two parties, — the one supporting the administra- 
tion of Adams and advocating his re-election, the other opposing 
his policy and measures and united in favour of General Jackson. 
Stockton soon became one of the most decided supporters of the 
General, and continued so throughout his whole term of service. 
Between them the most cordial and friendly intercourse subsisted. 
The principles of the Democratic party as it was reorganized by 
General Jackson, and as those principles were then understood, 
he approved ; and they still constitute in the main his political 
creed, as will be seen by reference to his speeches. The doctrine of 
State rights as expounded by the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions 
of 1798-9,* of a strict construction of the Constitution, of a simple 
and economical government, of opposition to all foreign entangling 
alliances, and the sentiment of devotion to the Union and implicit 
observance of the obligations of the Constitution, he has always 
consistently advocated and maintained. Nor, in the exercise of 
that independence which is an element of his character, has he 
failed to denounce any disregard of these principles, whether ex- 
hibited by political friends or opponents. 

Some have thought that he was not suflBciently observant of the 
obligations of party. Such persons have not been aware of the 
uniform language which he has always held from youth up in 
relation to party. The country and its welfare, he has uniformly 
asserted, were the only legitimate objects of party action; and when 
the safety, honour, or happiness of the country conflicted with the 
success of parties, it has been his doctrine that the claims of pa- 
triotism were paramofnt to those of party. The truth is that Stock- 
ton, in the political field, is the same man, with the same identical 
characteristics, as Stockton in the field of war. Bold, chivalric, and 
adventurous, whether it be an enemy to be encountered — thundering 
on his advance, or a principle of political action to be attacked or 
defended, he displays the same fearless intrepidity, and marches 
onward with the same unfaltering steps. There is a chivalry in 
politics « well as in war; but, unfortunately, while the one is ad- 
mired ^jd extolled by the multitude, they often deride and depre- 



cs A 

1 



* See his speech on harbour defences,^* a eulogium on these resolutions. 



CONSTRUCTION OF I)K;..V»VARE AXU RARITAN CANAL. Q5 

ciate the other. It is only history, and the few good and wise, 
"who appreciate the honest politician. 

In 1828-9, public attention in New Jersey was attracted with 
much interest to the subject of internal improvements. The benefits 
conferred on the people and State of New York by the construction 
of the Erie Canal had given a great impulse to the public mind in 
relation to roads and canals. Believing the construction of a canal 
to connect the waters of the Delaware and Hudson Rivers to be a 
work of national importance, the citizens of New Jersey had made 
frequent applications to* Congress for aid towards the accomplish- 
ment of that work ; but no aid from that quarter could be obtained. 
The State of New Jersey, in 1826, conferred a charter on a New 
York company to construct the Delaware and Raritan Canal, with 
very liberal privileges ; but, after a year spent in fruitless efforts to 
dispose of the stock, the New Yorkers abandoned the enterprise. 

In 1830, another charter was granted by the Legislature for a 
canal company at the same time that the Camden and Amboy Rail- 
road Company was incorporated. Mr. Stockton was absent fi-om 
New Jersey at this time, and took no part in the popular action 
which led to the enactment of the charter for the canal. Upon his 
return from the South, in the summer of 1830, he found that the 
books of subscription to the stock of the canal company had been 
opened, and but a small portion of the stock had been taken. He 
was originally in favour of the State's constructing the canal, and 
predicted that it would eventually become a source of emolument. 

By the action of the Legislature it now became settled that the 
State would not undertake the work ; and it was a question between 
having no canal or obtaining its construction through the instru- 
mentality of a chartered company. Mr. Stockton was strenuously 
urged to undertake the enterprise. After due deliberation, he sub- 
scribed the necessary number of shares to secure the charter. He 
at once endeavoured to enlist the New York and Philadelphia capi- 
talists in the work ; but, though it was apparent that those cities 
would derive the chief benefit from the canal when completed, he 
obtained little or no material aid from those quarters. They doubted 
whether so short a canal could be made profitable, and considered 
the enterprise too hazardous to contribute to its prosecution. He 
was compelled to rely chiefly upon his own resources ai^ those of 
his immediate family friends. The work was commenced with 
vigour, and prosecuted with all his energy. He embarked his whole 
fortune and that of his family in the enterprise. He manifested a 
remarkable liberality in letting the contracts for the canal and 



66 FINANC^L DIFFICULTIES. 

locks, by directing that no contracts should be given at a price be- 
low the estimates of the engineer. He knew that they were as low 
as any man could honourably afford to do the work, and he would 
suffer no temptation to be offered to contractors to cheat the com- 
pany or the labourers employed by them. 

During the progress of the work, a severe financial crisis occurred 
in the United States. It became evident that the original stock 
subscribed would not be sufficient to complete the canal, and a loan 
could not be obtained upon any reasonable terms at home. The 
credit of the United States had been somewhat strained in Europe, 
and Mr. Stockton was told by the New York and Philadelphia 
brokers that he could not negotiate such a loan as was required in 
London. lie, however, determined to make the experiment, and 
accordingly proceeded to Europe. Avoiding the intermediate as- 
sistance of the money-dealers, he applied directly to the great capi- 
talists themselves, and soon convinced them of the sufficiency of the 
Delaware and Raritan Canal as a security for the loan proposed. 
His success was deemed at that time a financial operation of no 
ordinary character. 

While the canal was thus in progress, the Camden and Amboy 
Railroad was likewise in process of construction, under the direction 
of his friends, the Messrs. Stevens, so renowned for their enterprise 
and sagacity. It became quite plain that the railroad would carry 
all the passengers and the greater part of the most valuable freight. 
Mr. Stockton, with the people in the central counties of New Jersey, 
considered the canal as really the most important work of the two to 
the State. In order to protect the canal, they therefore applied for 
liberty to construct a railroad through the central parts of New 
Jersey, from Trenton to New Brunswick. There was nothing in the 
Camden and Amboy charter which rendered such a grant an infringe- 
ment of their privileges. It was, however, strenuously opposed by 
the railroad company and its friends. Mr. Stockton took the ground 
that, unless their application were conceded, the Camden and Amboy 
Company would be a monopoly. Much has been said about mo- 
nopoly and anti-monopoly in New Jersey : it will appear from these 
facts that Mr. Stockton was among the first of the anti-monopolists. 

The Legislature terminated the controversy which threatened to 
agitate the.State, and consolidated the companies, with authority to 
construct ihe Trenton and New Brunswick Railroad. A railroad 
already had been constructed from Trenton and Philadelphia, and 
also another connecting New Brunswick and Jersey City. The 
joint companies thus secured to New Jersey two distinct thorough- 



TRANSIT DUTIES. 67 

fares througli the State by railroads, as well as the successful com- 
pletion of the canal. They likewise gave the State $200,000 of 
their stock, guaranteed that the transit duties accruing to the State 
for passengers and freight should never be less than $30,000 per 
annum, and submitted to important reductions in the fares which 
they were originally permitted by their charters to collect. 

Much outcry has been raised because of these transit duties, by 
citizens of other States who imperfectly understand their nature. 
Notwithstanding New York and Pennsylvania, and every State 
which has constructed public works, exact a revenue from them in 
the shape of tolls and charges for freight. New Jersey, having con- 
structed her public works without incurring any public debt through 
the instrumentality of chartered companies, is vehemently censured 
because she has been provident enough to reserve some revenue to 
herself from the business done upon the works she has authorized. 

The mistake of the citizens of other States, who censure New Jersey 
for this cause, is, that they consider the transit duties as a tax levied 
upon them. If it were such, there could be no doubt of the right 
of New Jersey to exact it. But it is a tax on the business of the 
companies, and not upon individuals. It is a substitute for taxation 
of the capital of the companies. The State foresaw that, while the 
capital remained stationary, the business of the companies would 
augment annually. While granting important privileges, the State 
therefore wisely protected her own interests. The entire income 
which she derives from the companies is now about $150,000 per 
annum. The tolls and charges of the companies are, however, in 
no manner affected by these duties. Were they entirely abolished 
the companies would charge the same as they do now. 

Much clamour has been raised in the newspapers also respecting 
the monopoly enjoyed by these companies. It is obvious that these 
works could not have been constructed unless exclusive privileges 
had been originally conferred, as an inducement and protection to 
those who made them. These privileges are the price paid for these 
works at a time when there was no certainty that they would ever 
remunerate their projectors. Notwithstanding the value of these 
great works, the proprietors have several times offered to surren- 
der them to the State upon their being paid the actual value, or the 
cost and interest thereon, of their original construction. But public 
opinion, with few exceptions, is satisfied that they can hp managed 
better and more economically by chartered companies than by the 
State herself. 

The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a work of great value and 



08 PARALLEL Br:T\Mp(N STOCKTON AND CLINTON. 

importance. Its business promises to exceed the most sanguine 
expectations of its projectors. When the coal-fields of Pennsyl- 
vania are more fully developed, this canal will be supplied with freight 
to its utmost capacity. Vessels of five hundred tons now pass 
through it from the Delaware to the Hudson. In time of war with 
any maritime nation, the whole coasting trade afloat will seek this 
channel. No other work of similar importance in the United 
States has yet been constructed through the energy and exertions 
of any single individual. Mr. Clinton, indeed, is celebrated as one 
of the most powerful projectors of the construction of the Erie 
Canal. But he was assisted by many associates, who shared the 
responsibility and the honour of that work ; and he was sustained 
by the credit of the State of New York, which alone contributed 
the financial means. Mr. Stockton was aided by the credit of no 
State. No debt was incurred by New Jersey for that object. But 
there it is, a magnificent and enduring benefit not only to the people 
of New Jersey, but to the people of the adjacent States particu- 
larly and the commerce of the whole country generally.* 

The following letter of Commodore Stockton, reviewing the whole 
subject of internal improvement in New Jersey, will be a useful 
auxiliary to the reader in enabling him to understand better this 
portion of our history : — 

REPLY OF COMMODORE R. F. STOCKTON TO THE LETTER FROM CITI- 
ZENS OF TOM'S RIVER. 

To Messrs. F. J. jSpeer, W. I. James, James CfulicJc, Benjamin L. 
Irons, and others, citizens of the county of Ocean. 

Gentlemen : — In consequence of my absence from Princeton, 
I did not see your letter until it was published in the Monmouth 
Democrat. 

It would, nevertheless, have been sooner acknowledged had not 
numerous engagements prevented. The act to which you refer, I 
assure you, gave me no annoyance. If in the exercise of the 
"largest liberty" any of my fellow-citizens see fit to recreate them- 
selves by executing effigies which they please to designate " Com- 
modore Stockton," they are welcome to all the enjoyment and glory 
they can derive from amusements so harmless. AVhile conscious of 
the rectitude of my own actions and intentions, malicious denuncia- 
tions move me not. 

* See Address of R. F. Stockton to the people of New Jersey, Appendix. 



REPLY TO THE CITIZENS OF TOM's RIVER. 69 

It is now nearly a quarter of a century since I devoted my mind, 
my means, and those of co-operating friends whom I could influence, 
to the cause of internal improvement in New Jersey. When I con- 
sider the inadequacy of my experience and abilities to the vast 
enterprise in which I then engaged, the diflSculties to be encoun- 
tered, and the slender resources which at first were within my con- 
trol, and then advert to the realization of my proudest hopes, and 
more especially when I survey the benefits which, in part through 
my instrumentality, have been conferred upon New Jersey by this 
system of internal improvements, which I have advocated and de- 
fended, I can well tolerate with indifference any abuse which my 
success and my fidelity to the true interests and welfare of my 
native State may provoke. 

Gentlemen, you say that "a majority of the people here are 
opposed to the measures of the party with which you co-operate, 
and to the State policy of which you are an able advocate." With 
regard to "party measures," I do not care a rush; but in relation 
to the improvement of New Jersey I do feel deeply concerned, and 
will hope that the time is not far distant when there will be little 
or no difference of opinion between us. No doubt the time has 
been, when a formidable opposition existed in New Jersey to the 
system of internal improvements with which I have been identified. 
The papers teemed with abuse of me, and a powerful party threat- 
ened the extinction of private rights and the violation of public 
honour. I placed myself in the breach on those occasions ; but I 
never deprecated abuse, nor retorted the intemperate fulminations 
of political adversaries. I chose rather to let results speak for me. 
To their verdict I always confidently appeal. I was willing to 
stand or fall with the success or failure of the system which I re- 
commended. Now that these results have proved eminently fortu- 
nate — now that triumphant success vindicates my system, though I 
may continue to treat defamation with silence and calumny with 
contempt, I shall on no fitting occasion like the present fail to re- 
mind my fellow-citizens that they owe the present prosperity of 
New Jersey, under God, first, to the system of internal improve- 
ment now subsisting, and, second, to the adherence by the State 
and the joint companies to the principles of plighted good faith and 
honour. 

Interposing between the two great commercial emporiums of the 
continent — the natural bridge for all internal intercourse between 
the North and the South, — her commerce absorbed and diverted from 
her own harbours, New Jersey was bound by every dictate of politi- 



70 REPLY TO THJpflTIZEXS OF TOM's RIVER. 

cal sagacity to make the most of her territorial advantages, and 
to compensate herself therefrom for the injuries inflicted by the 
overshadowing rivalship of New York and rhiladclphia. The first 
great desideratum for the accomplishment of this object was the 
construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The success of 
the Hudson and Erie Canal inspired many with a desire that New 
Jersey should make the Delaware and Raritan Canal a State work. 
The State wisely (as events have shown) shrunk from the danger 
of encumbering lierself with debt. She was not possessed of the 
vast resources of New York, and, judging from the analogy fur- 
nished by State prosecution and management of public works else- 
where, it is quite probable that, had this State commenced the 
construction of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, she would 
have abandoned it before its completion, and, instead of pouring 
its contributions (as at present) into her treasury, the debt in- 
curred for its commencement would hang like an incubus on her 
prosperity. 

For more than ten years subsequent to the completion of the 
canal, the receipts of the joint companies for toll hardly paid its 
expenses. How would the State have sustained herself under such 
a result, even if she had completed the construction of the canal ? 
She would probably have been compelled by public clamour to have 
sacrificed it to speculators, who would assume only half of her in- 
debtedness, just as Pennsylvania is now endeavouring to dispose of 
her public works. The State of New Jersey pursued a more cau- 
tious policy; she conferred a liberal charter on a company for the 
construction of the canal. The company which have completed it 
were secured against ruinous competition, and have been thereby 
enabled patiently to await the growth of business on that great 
work. 

Contemporaneous with the incorporation of the Canal Company, 
the State incorporated also the Camden and Amboy Railroad and 
Transportation Company. At that time the nature and uses of 
railroads were but little known or understood, and no one was aware 
of the mighty capacity of the steam locomotive. I foresaw that 
the Delaware and Raritan Canal could not be constructed while 
menaced with the rivalship of a railroad. The public men of New 
Jersey and the people soon became impressed with the same views ; 
they saw in competition none of those benign influences which its 
over-zealous friends attribute to it. They were not willing to risk 
the defeat of the canal for the sake of encouraging a ruinous com- 
petition, principally for the benefit of the inhabitants of other 



REPLY TO THE CITIZENS OF TOMS RIVER. (1 

States. They established, then, after careful deliberation, the 
policy and the system which have continued to this day, — a system 
which, whether called a monopoly or any thing else, has vindicated 
itself. That system insured the construction of the Delaware and 
Raritan Canal ; it insured also two other railroad thoroughfares 
across the State ; adequate accommodations, at reasonable fares, for 
the transit of all freight and passengers over the State ; it insured, 
too, just compensation to the State for the privileges conferred, 
yielding an abundant and increasing revenue, and, in the progress 
of time and the development of the system, it secured likewise the 
construction of all local roads which may be needed in the southern 
and western parts of the State, when, without it, they would hardly 
be made in the lifetime of the present generation. And lastly, that 
system, after all doubt about the productiveness of the canal and 
railroads shall have been dispelled, and after experience shall have 
demonstrated the most judicious and economical method of manag- 
ing them, invests the State with the right to take them at their 
appraised value. Should she do so at the time when by law she is 
authorized to exercise her option so to do, and should she conduct 
them wisely and economically, there can be no doubt they will 
make New Jersey, in proportion to her population, the most opulent 
and flourishing State in America or elsewhere. 

Now, in contrast with the results of this system of New Jersey, 
cast your eyes over our sister States, where State construction and 
management of public works, and boundless competition, have pre- 
vailed. In one case you perceive powerful States crippled with 
debt and tormented with vexatious taxation, oppressing industry 
and depreciating the value of the property of the people. In the 
other case you see gigantic corporations tottering on the verge of 
bankruptcy, and threatening, in their fall, to cover the land with 
desolation, impoverishing widows and orphans — the rich and those 
who are not rich. 

Unrestricted competition, when applied to railroad constructions, 
is an enormous and delusive fraud ; it is a fraud because it promises 
advantages which it cannot confer ; it allures into a snare the 
unwary, the ignorant, and the helpless, and involves them all in 
one fatal catastrophe. 

It is far better for the public to have one good railroad than two 
inferior railroads. The real interests of the people of the whole 
country are not promoted by railroads transporting freight and 
passengers at a loss. The interest of no class can be permanently 



7- REPLY TO THE CITIZENS OF TOM S RIVER. 

promoted by the industry of any other class being underpaid. 
Uui-estricted competition in the construction of raihoads, by pro- 
ducing inadequate compensation for railroad services, has a tendency 
to destroy capital. The destruction of capital is a calamity to the 
whole community. It checks enterprise and deprives labour of 
employment. There is another reason why such unrestricted com- 
petition is a fraud. It eventually places the weaker competitor in 
the power of the stronger, — making the rich richer, and the power- 
ful more powerful, and finally terminates in a more inexorable and 
omnipotent monopoly than otherwise could be possible. 

^Vhen, under the sanction of legislative enactment, a large capital 
is invested in such a work as a great railroad or canal, the objects 
of which are the promotion of the public interests as well as those 
of individuals, — when that capital is unalterably fixed, and converted 
into such a public improvement, and in the shape of stock-t^hares 
diffused throughout the community in the hands of men of limited 
means, held in part by the comparatively poor — by widows and 
orphans — by executors and administrators — eleemosynary institu- 
tions, — it ought to be considered as under the aegis of the public 
protection. 

Were an incendiary to fire the shop and stations of such a rail- 
road company, to tear up its rails, destroy its bridges, or in any 
way wantonly injure its structures, he would be deemed worthy of 
condign punishment, and the condemnation of all men would make 
him infamous. Yet, under the plausible pretext of competition, 
still more destructive and pernicious injuries are inflicted u{)on the 
enterprising capitalist and his helpless and confiding friends, who 
may have embarked their whole worldly substance in a railroad or 
a canal. 

I care not what circumstances furnish the occasion for such un- 
righteous legislation ; when such wrongs are perpetrated, they are 
equivalent to robbery; they have no foundation in justice; they 
are exertions of despotic power, irrespective of the principles of 
honour or justice. It is impossible for the interests of any com- 
munity to be advanced by the violation of the eternal principles of 
justice. 

These conclusions are established by experience, as exhibited in 
the consequences of unrestricted railroad competition in New Eng- 
land, in New York, and in Great Britain. New Jersey has wisely 
repudiated the fraud and folly of a reckless and destructive com- 
petition. And the public enjoys the benefit of her wisdom and 



REPLY TO THE CITIZENS OF TOM'S RIVER. 73 

pruilence, in the most ample accommodations, upon fair terms, of 
the facilities offered by her public works. The proprietors of these 
■works, controlled by no sordid or circumscribed view of their duties 
and obligations, strong in the confidence of the people, and grate- 
ful for the good faith and support which have always been manifested 
towards them by the State and their fellow-citizens, feel an abiding 
disposition to comply with all the just requisitions of an enlightened 
public, and will ultimately be able, from the abundance of their 
resources and their strength, to transport both passengers and 
freight at lower rates than any ill-judged competition could ever 
have compelled. 

Next in importance to the adoption of the present system of 
internal improvement in New Jersey, in estimating the causes of 
her prosperity, may be ranked the firmness and consistency with 
which the joint companies and the State have adhered, through all 
the phases of monetary and political affairs, to the principles of 
honour and plighted faith. 

There has been no time within the last twenty years when the 
joint companies, by the simple relinquishment of all opposition to 
efforts for the establishment of competing railroads, could not have 
rid themselves of all contributions to the State Treasury, and vastly 
augmented their profits and income, while at the same time they 
could have defeated any actual competition. They have, however, 
turned a deaf ear to all overtures contemplating such results, even 
when the madness of party seemed to create a necessity for such 
action. They have stood at the portals of the State Treasury, its 
protector and defender, when others have sought the destruction of 
the State revenue and credit. I do not exaggerate when I say that 
it has always been considered by the joint companies a paramount 
obligation to consult the interest of the State. 

And now, after having devoted the best portion of my life to the 
promotion of the interests, the happiness, and prosperity of New 
Jersey, — after having been so long in contact with her public men, 
her legislators, and her most intelligent citizens in all parts of the 
State, — if there be a man whom I have deceived or misled, whose 
confidence I have abused, or who can justly charge me with any 
violation of the strictest principles of honour and integrity in my 
intercourse with him, I am yet to know him. 

It is because my fellow-citizens know that .1 have been thus 
governed by the severest principles of honour that they have stood 
by me to baffle and defeat those who, no matter under what pretence 



74 REPLY TO T^»CITIZENS OF TOM'S RIVER. 

or profession, sought to endanger the State revenue. Demagogues 
have in vain attempted, by all the acts of political chicanery, to 
corrupt their principles or excite tlieir cupidity. There never has 
been a year or a day, in spite of all the lavish expenditure of foreign 
adventurers or the marshalled array of faction, when any man 
could stand up in the Legislature of New Jersey and propose the 
violation of the State's compact with the joint companies, without 
incurring the doom of universal execration and contempt. 

Vindictively as I have been assailed for my connection with these 
companies, — identical as their prostration has been sought to be 
made with the triumph first of one party and then of another, — 
ingeniously as astute lawyers and politicians have proved the in- 
fraction of the public faith to be compatible with law and justice, — 
there has been no time when any of these attacks, or propositions, 
or sophisms, have made any serious impression on the public mind. 
That public mind has been too honest and too sagacious to cherish 
error, or to be led, even by its passions or its prejudices, to the com- 
mission of injustice. 

There is no State in the Union — there is, in my opinion, no State 
in the world — in which public faith and the rights and property of 
men are more secure than in New Jersey. There is no State in 
which stronger temptations have been offered to violate the sanctity 
of State obligations than here ; but there is no State in which such 
temptations have been more contemptuously spurned or more 
universally despised. To live in such a State, to be citizens of such 
a commonwealth, is a great satisfaction. To die in such a com- 
munity, with the consoling reflection that our children will enjoy 
the shelter of its protection and all the benefits of its just laws 
and free and noble institutions, divests even death itself, in some 
measure, of apprehension. In the natural course of human life, 
there are but a few more years allotted to me. I am withdrawn 
from public life, and never expect or desire to reappear on its sur- 
face. My chief desire and solicitude with respect to public affairs 
are concentrated in New Jersey. My chief ambition is to be re- 
membered as one of her sons, who honestly and assiduously devoted 
himself to her welfare. There is a monitor within my breast which 
assures me that, whatever may be the views of any of my fellow- 
citizens in relation to me now, however harsh their judgment, how- 
ever unrelenting and unforgiving their enmity and hostile their 
attitude, the time Avill come, when, after my poor remains shall 
repose beneath the sods of New Jersey with those of my ancestors, 



REPLY TO THE CITIZENS OF TOM S RIVER. I O 

that my memory will be cherished Avith respect, and that my name 
will stand on the page of New Jersey's history, associated forever 
with those whose chief ambition was the promotion of her prosperity, 
happiness, and glory. 

Gentlemen, I thank you for the letter which you have addressed 
to me. I will long remember it as a flattering evidence of true 
regard from my fellow-citizens at Tom's River. 
Very faithfully. 

Your friend and obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton. 



76 SAILS mf^ THE MEDITERRANEAN. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ME. STOCKTON SAILS IN THE OHIO (sKVENTT-FOUR) FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN GIVES 

HIS ATTENTION TO NAVAL ARCHITECTURE VISITS ENGLAND FORMS THE DESIGN OF 

A STEAM FRIGATE PROMOTED TO POST-CAPTAINCY RETURNS TO UNITED STATK8 

STATE OF PARTIES VAN BUREN's ADMINISTRATION CORRUPTION INSULT TO NBW 

jersey captain stockton repudiates van buren supports harrison mr. 

Tyler's independent action — offers the appointment of secretary of thb 
navy to captain stockton declined construction of war-steamer prince- 
ton success of this vessel accident report of court op inquiry cap- 
tain stockton sails to texas with annexation resolutions predicts 

mexican war. 

In 1838, having received orders, Mr. Stockton left all his great 
interests in New Jersey without delay, and repaired to the post 
assigned him. 

It may here be remarked that during his whole period of 
service he never refused or declined to obey a single order of the 
Navy Department, nor did he ever ask to have any order modi- 
fied or withdrawn, but always promptly obeyed, whatever might 
be the personal sacrifice; nor was he in one single instance ever 
reprimanded by a superior in rank, or subjected to a court- 
martial for any acts, official or otherwise. His history will show 
that this exemption from such incidents to a long period of service 
in the navy was not owing to any reluctance on his part to the 
assumption of responsibility. Not General Jackson, or any other 
officer, military or naval, took upon himself responsibility, when 
the welfare of the service required it, more fearlessly than Stockton. 

He sailed for the Mediterranean as Flag or Executive officer of 
the Ohio, (seventy-four,) flag-ship of Commodore Hull. He was like- 
wise bearer of despatches from the administration to our minister in 
England. While there, he devoted much time and incurred great 
expense in visiting and inspecting the naval depots, and yards, 
and shops, and marine armaments of Great Britain, and investi- 
gating the improvements in naval architecture. At this time he 
conceived the idea of constructing a formidable steamship-of-war, 
with all her machinery below water-line, and capable of carrying 
such an armament as would make her invincible for defence and 
the most destructive of all known instruments of war. He had the 



PROMOTED AND RECALLED. 77 

model of such a ship prepared and forwarded to the United States, 
and subsequently, as will be hereafter related, on a reduced scale, 
tested its practical value by the successful construction of tho 
Princeton. 

Mr. Stockton did not remain long in the Mediterranean, having 
been promoted in 1839 to be a post-captain and recalled. He re- 
turned at a period of great political excitement. The suspension of 
specie payments had disturbed the financial condition of the country, 
and commerce and industry generally were embarrassed or paralyzed. 

Mr. Van Buren's administration, confiding in the strength of 
the Jackson Democratic party, by whom it was created, was cha- 
racterized by a reckless defiance of public opinion. Relying on the 
coherence of party attachments, it rather defied than conciliated tho 
people. The enormous corruption and expenditures of the Florida 
war, the numerous cases of peculation by government officers tole- 
rated with impunity, the proposition recommended by Mr. Van 
Buren to establish an immense standing army and substantially to 
withdraw from State control the militia, and, above all, in (New 
Jersey) the contemptuous treatment of the Broad Seal of the 
State, by the refusal to receive, in violation of precedents, the 
members of Congress who were certified by the Governor to be 
elected, had arrayed against Mr. Van Buren's re-election a formid- 
able opposition, including in almost every State many leading men 
previously attached to the Democratic party. 

Having no political aspirations, but anxious for the prosperity of 
the country, Mr. Stockton had acted with the Democratic party 
because he agreed with them as to the principles best adapted to 
promote the welfare of the people and protect the rights of the 
States. But when he saw those principles disregarded or violated 
by the administration, and when, as in the case of the New Jersey 
members, he saw State rights assailed and the sovereignty of New 
Jersey insulted, he determined to act independently and in accord- 
ance with his own patriotic feelings. The trammels of party could 
not compel him to support an administration which he disapproved. 
Measures inconsistent with Democratic principles he was unwilling 
to consider Democratic merely because supported by the party. A 
party, he believed, could be false to its own professions. The course 
of events has fully justified his political action in 1840. The House 
of Representatives of Congress solemnly reversed the principles of 
the decision which then excluded the Jersey members. And Mr. 
Van Buren by his apostasy in 1848 justified the opinion which 
Mr. Stockton entertained of his merits in 1840. He only antici- 



78 OPPOSES HP? buren's re-election. 

pated tlio judgment of condemnation which the whole party have 
since unanimously awarded him. 

After having made up his mind to oppose the re-election of Mr. 
Van Buren, Mr. Stockton took the field, and addressed the people 
of New Jersey in almost every county in the State. No correct 
reports were ever given by the press of his efforts on these occa- 
sions. Many garbled misrepresentations of them were, however, 
published, which, with Mr. Stockton's usual disregard of fame, he 
never thought it worth while to notice. The author of these pages 
was so fortunate as to hear him address the people several times 
during this political campaign, and we have a distinct recollection 
of many of his speeches, which all bore a general resemblance to 
each other. 

In his exordium he defined his position, and uniformly avowed 
himself an unchanged Democrat, and, because he was such, he 
opposed Mr. Van Buren's re-election. He stigmatized Mr. Van 
Buren's administration as false to Democratic principles, measures, 
and policy, and, in all his speeches, invariably said that, should 
General Harrison, if elected, become obnoxious to any of the charges 
which he now made against Mr. Van Buren, he should be found as 
strenuous an opponent of him as he was of Mr. Van Buren. He 
declared that he had himself no political objects to gain by a change 
of administration; that all he desired was to see the country pros- 
perous and happy. State rights properly regarded, and correct 
principles and measures maintained. 

The novelty of a young oificer of the navy appearing in the poli- 
tical arena, boldly arraigning a President at whose will his commis- 
sion was held, excited much remark, while the ability and eloquence 
which he displayed astonished and electrified his hearers. An 
immense concourse attended whenever he was invited to address the 
people ; and all, whether friend or foe, united in conceding him a 
high rank among the most popular orators of the day. His power 
and resources as a political speaker took the people by surprise. 
The wonder was, how and when and in what school were these ora- 
torical faculties cultivated? "Were they natural, or inherited, or 
acquired? A clear head, a sound judgment, confidence in his own 
rectitude, and a moral intrepidity that quails not in the presence of 
living man, are distinguishing characteristics of Mr. Stockton. 
These enable him, no matter with whom confronted, however refined 
or exalted the persons or multitudinous the assemblage, always to 
retain his self-possession and exert his intellect to the extent which 
the occasion requires. 



SUSTAINS PRESIDENT TYLER. 79 

As a popular speaker, Mr. Stockton enjoys a high reputation. 
But those who know him best say that his strength is felt to be 
greatest in the discussion of affairs of business. Then his pene- 
trating sagacity, strong practical common sense, and clearness of 
perception, give him superior weight in all deliberative councils. 

We believe that many entertain the opinion that Stockton is a 
man of impulse, — that he is rash and impatient, and decides with- 
out due reflection. No opinion is more groundless and erroneous. 
No one more patiently and carefully deliberates before he attempts 
to act. Every circumstance is duly weighed, every obstacle con- 
sidered, and every chance of defeat canvassed, before he determines 
upon action. But, when he has determined, no one acts with 
more impetuous promptness or vehemence : to conquer difficulties 
then becomes in him a passion. Whether in public speaking or 
private council, the perfect honesty and sincerity of his character 
always give to his opinion an intrinsic force and weight which at all 
times command respect. 

With popular manners and address, courteous to all who approach 
him, devotedly attached to his native State, of which he was begin- 
ning to be appreciated as a benefactor, it is not remarkable that his 
political exertions produced a decided influence on the result. New 
Jersey gave a large majority of votes in favour of General Harrison, 
and the Van Buren party was defeated. 

Mr. Tyler, who, being Vice-President, succeeded to the Presidency 
on the death of General Harrison, soon found himself opposed by the 
bulk of the party which elected him. He, too, had always previously 
acted with the Democratic party until 1840 ; but, disgusted with the 
measures and principles of Mr. Van Buren, he refused to support his 
renomination for the Presidency. Though he would not go with 
his party for this purpose, nevertheless he had never disavowed his 
former principles and opinions. When, therefore, the triumphant 
leaders of the administration which General Harrison formed endea- 
voured to seduce Mr. Tyler to approve the creation of a national 
bank, he refused to become their instrument for that purpose. This 
produced an irreparable breach between them. Mr. Stockton, ap- 
proving Mr. Tyler's consistency, and the moral courage with which 
he defied the difficulties in which he was involved, came out openly 
in his favour. He thought Mr. Tyler right, and he sustained him 
without any regard for his own popularity or personal interests. 
The disinterestedness of his support of President Tyler was proved 
by his refusal of the office of Secretary of the Navy, which was 
pressed upon him not only by the President, but which numerous 



80 CONS'MML'TS A WAR-STEAMER. 



friends, confi<leiit in his abilities to discharge the duties of that sta- 
tion, earnestly solicited him to accept.* lie was determiiieil, liow- 
ever, that his motives for differing with friends with whom he had 
80 long acted sliould not be impeached by being supposed to be in- 
fluenced by ambition. He knew them to be patriotic, and he would 
not permit them to be tainted by any such imputation. 

For several years previous to this period, Mr. Stockton had given 
much attention to gunnery and the construction of steam-engines, 
and also to naval architecture. The steamboats and locomotives 
constructed by his friends, the Messrs. Stevens, (so celebrated aa 
civil engineers and for their scientific attainments,) for the railroad 
and canal companies, gave him favourable opportunities to obtain 
experience and knowledge in that branch of the arts. Their boats 
were then, as they continue to be, models of beauty, power, and 
celerity. 

At his earnest solicitation, Mr. Stockton was now permitted by 
the Navy Department to construct a steamship-of-war, — not exactly 
of the dimensions which he recommended, but on a reduced model. 
There were at this time no national steam-vessels in the navy. 
The government had entirely neglected to avail itself of that won- 
derful agent which had been already appropriated to warlike pur- 
poses by other maritime nations. There never had been any ship- 
of-war at this period constructed by the United States to which 
Steam-power had been successfully applied. The Fulton and other 
previous attempts were miserable failures. Stockton had for several 
years urged upon the Department the importance of keeping up 
with other nations in all improvements in naval architecture. His 
advice to the Navy Department was, that every ship-of-war thence- 
forward built should be larger and more effective than the best and 
most powerful vessels constructed by the British or French. Thus, 
in case of a war with either of those powers, we might reasonably 
hope to win some laurels. He advised the Navy Department to 
apply steam-power to all our vessels already built, and to build 
hereafter none but war-steamers of the largest size, adapted to the 
largest known guns. 

The head of the Navy Department is generally a politician, more 
solicitous to obtain popularity among the officers than competent to 
discharge judiciously the functions of his office. He listens, there- 
fore, to the advice of the superannuated officers, who, with pro- 



* The oflBce was suffered to remain vacant several weeks by the President, with 
the hope that Captain Stockton would be prevailed on to accept it. 



THE PRINCETON COMPLETED. 81 

fessional dogmatism, denounce all novelties and pronounce all inno- 
vations dangerous. The application of steam to national ships-of- 
war from the first was resisted by many naval officers, and had to 
encounter many prejudices and much opposition. It was confidently 
asserted by the old captains that sailing-vessels would never be 
superseded by steam-vessels, and that the latter would be worthless 
except for purposes of transportation. 

Notwithstanding the prevalence of these opinions at Washington, 
the urgency of Stockton's advice was such that he finally obtained 
the consent of the Department to his construction of a steam- 
frigate, though very inferior in dimensions to the plan which he 
had originally proposed. The steamer Princeton was commenced 
in Philadelphia, accordingly, in 1842, and completed in 1844. 
The construction of the Princeton confuted the ignorance and anti- 
quated dogmas of the Washington Naval Bureau. Her speed and 
sailing qualities, her admirable model, the impregnable security of 
her motive-power, (being placed below water-line,) and her powerful 
armament, made her an object of universal admiration. Wherever 
she appeared, immense crowds gathered to vsitness her evolutions 
and inspect her machinery. She was kept in continual service from 
the time she was launched until the antipathy of the blundering in- 
capables who controlled the Bureau of Construction at Washington 
directed her to be broken up. " On her visit to the Mediterranean 
she attracted the attention of the curious and of the skilful engineers 
of every European naval power ; and, while the United States ne- 
glected to multiply such cheap and efficient auxiliaries of naval de- 
fence after her model, England and France profited by the experi- 
ment, and their navies are now crowded with powerful steamers, 
many of them built on the model, and possessing all the peculiar 
characteristics, of the Princeton. 

The following letter of Captain Stockton, descriptive of his noble 
ship, will be read with interest by those who remember the sensation 
produced by the Princeton on her first appearance in our waters : — 

"United States Ship Princeton, 

"Philadelphia, February 5, 1844. 

«< Sir : — The United States ship Princeton having received her 
armament on board, and being nearly ready for sea, I have the honour 
to transmit to you the following account of her equipment, &c. 

"The Princeton is a 'full-rigged ship,' of great speed and power, 
able to perform any service that can be expected from a ship-of-war. 
Constructed upon the most approved principles of naval architec- 



82 HER ADVANTAGES OVER SAILING-VESSELS. 

ture, she is believed to be at least equal to any sliip of her class, 
with her sails. She has an auxiliary power of steam, and can make 
greater speed than any sea-going steamer or other vessel heretofore 
built, ller engines lie snug in the bottom of the vessel, out of 
reach of an enemy's shot, and do not at all interfere with the use 
of the sails, but can at any time be made auxiliary thereto. She 
shows no chimney ar. i makes no smoke-, and there is nothing in her 
external appearance to indicate that she is propelled by steam. 

"The advantages of the Princeton over both sailing-sliips and 
steamers propelled in the usual way are great and obvious. She 
can go in and out of port at pleasure, without regard to the force 
or direction of the wind or tide, or the thickness of the ice. She 
can ride safely with her anchors in the most open roadstead, and 
may lie to in the severest gale of wind with safety. She can not 
only save herself, but will be able to tow a squadron from the dan- 
gers of a lee-shore. Using ordinarily the power of the wind, and 
reserving her fuel for emergencies, she can remain at sea the same 
length of time as other sailing-ships. Making no noise, smoke, or 
agitation of the water, (and, if she chooses, showing no sail,) she 
can surprise an enemy. She can at pleasure take her own position 
and her own distance from the enemy. Her engines and water- 
wheel being below the surface of the water, safe from an enemy's 
shot, she is in no danger of being disabled, even if her masts should 
be destroyed. She will not be at a daily expense for fuel, as other 
steamships are. The engines, being seldom used, will probably out- 
last two such ships. These advantages make the Princeton, in my 
opinion, the cheapest, fastest, and most certain ship-of-war in the 
world. The equipments of this ship are of the plainest and most 
substantial kind, — the furniture of the cabins being made of white 
pine boards, painted white, with mahogany chairs, table, and side- 
board, and an American-manufactured oil-cloth on the floor. To 
economize room, and that the ship may be better ventilated, curtains 
of American-manufactured linen are substituted for the usual and 
more cumbrous and expensive wooden bulkheads, by which arrange- 
ment the apartments of the men and officers may in an instant be 
thrown into one, and a degree of spaciousness and comfort is at- 
tained unusual in a ship of her class. The Princeton is armed with 
two long 225-pound wrought-iron guns and twelve 42-pound car- 
ronades, all of which may be used at once on either side of the ship. 
She can consequently throw a greater weight of metal at one broad- 
side than most frigates. The big guns of the Princeton can be fired 
with an effect terrific and almost incredible, and with a certainty 



EXPERIMENTS WITH HER GUNS. 83 

heretofDre unknown. The extraordinary effects of the shot were 
proved by firing at a target, which was made to represent a section 
of the two sides and deck of a seventy-four-gun ship, and timbered, 
kneed, planked, and bolted, in the same manner. This target was 
five hundred and sixty yards from the gun. With the smaller 
charges of poAvder the shot passed through these immense masses 
of timber, (being fifty-seven inches thick,) tearing it away and 
splintering it for several feet on each side, and covering the whole 
surface of the ground for a hundred yards square with fragments 
of wood and iron. The accuracy with which these guns throw their 
immense shot (which are three feet in circumference) may be judged 
by this: — that six shot fired in succession at the same elevation 
struck the same horizontal plank in a target more than half a mile 
distant. By the application of the various arts to the purposes of 
war on board the Princeton, it is believed that the art of gunnery 
for sea-service has, for the first time, been reduced to something 
like mathematical certainty. The distance to which these guns can 
throw their shot, at every necessary angle of elevation, has been 
ascertained by a series of careful experiments. The distance from 
the ship to any object is readily ascertained with an instrument on 
board, contrived for that purpose, by an observation which it re- 
quires but an instant to make, and by inspection without calcula- 
tion. By self-acting locks, the guns can be fired accurately at the 
necessary elevation, no matter what the motion of the ship may be. 
It is confidently believed that this small ship will be able to battle 
with any vessel, however large, if she is not invincible against any 
foe. The improvements in the art of war adopted on board the 
Princeton, may be productive of more important results than any 
thing that has occurred since the invention of gunpowder. The 
numerical force of other navies, so long boasted, may be set at 
naught. The ocean may again become neutral ground, and the 
rights of the smallest as well as the greatest nations may once more 
be respected. 

"All of which, for the honour and defence of every inch of our 
territory, is most respectfully submitted to the honourable Secre- 
tary of the Navy, for the information of the President and Congress 
of the United States, 

"By your obedient and faithful servant, 

"R. F. Stockton, 

" Captain U. S. Navy. 
«To Hon. David Henshaw, 

^^ Secretary of the Navy." 



84 EXCTJRSIOj^N HOARD THE VESSEL, 

The enthusiasm produced by the appearance of the Princeton 
wherever she went, "vvill appear from the following extracts from a 
letter dated Washington, February 20, 1844, published in the Oltio 
Statesman : — 

^'■House of Representatives on hoard the Steamship Princeton — 
Excursion down the Potomac and hack — Captain Stockton and 
his Ship — Coronation dinner on hoard. 

•'Washington, Tuesday, February 20, 1844. 

"When the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, who, it is said, 
was somewhat partial to ladies, she declared upon her sacred honour 
that not the half had been told her of the power and glory and gal- 
lantry of the illustrious philosopher-king, the mighty successor of 
the minstrel-monarch of the Golden city of Zion ; so it is impossible 
to tell you the half that we saw and heard and enjoyed in the 
excursion given to the House of Representatives by Captain Stock 
ton, of the steam-frigate Princeton, this day. 

" The morning was propitious, auspicious, and tolerably delicious. 
The atmosphere, it is true, was rather misty and overclouded, but 
the wind was from the right quarter ; the golden angel upon the 
steeple of the Rev. 0. B. Brown's church held her trumpet stead- 
fastly to the south. At half-past ten, in company with two of our 
Representatives — Messrs. Morris and M'Causlen — of the House, we 
set out on foot for Greenleaf's Point, at the southern extremity of 
the city, distant about two miles ; but the mud was impassable, and 
so we accepted the offer of a passing hackman and rode it. Had 
the constituents of our friends seen them sitting with their hats off 
in an aristocratic-looking coach, on the way to the landing, we doubt 
not they would have been chalked down on the blackboard for future 
accountability. 

" Arrived at the landing, we discovered the Princeton, with her 
graceful keel, her tall and tapering spars, lying out a mile off in the 
stream. Several boats and a 'broadhorn' were kept plying to and 
fro between ship and shore for nearly an hour, in the transportation 
of most of the honourable members of the House, and some of the 
Senate, and not a few of the honourable fraternity of reporters, 
among which was your faithful ambassador at Washington in pro- 
pria persona. 

"The marines were discovered drawn up in line on the upper 
deck as we mounted through the port-hole. When the whole com- 
pany of visitors were aboard, (some three hundred persons,) the ship 
was put in motion by her invisible and almost noiseless machinery 



THE PEACEMAKER AND THE OREGON. 85 

in the hold. We found the Princeton armed with twelve 42-pounders 
and two tremendous pieces of ten tons' weight each, (of wrought iron, 
carrying a ball of two hundred and thirty pounds for two miles with 
the precision of a rifle,) all on the upper deck. The two great guns 
are fixed at the how and stern of the ship, and are called the ' Peace- 
maker' and the 'Oregon.' These two 'bursters' are as bright as 
Aunt Peggy's pewter plates on Saturday evening, shining all in a 
row on the top shelf of the kitchen-cupboard. When the ship was 
fairly under way, Captain Stockton, mounting one of the guns, said, 
' Now, gentlemen of the House of Representatives, fellow-citizens, 
and shipmates, we are going to give a salute to the wisdom of this 
mighty republic, (God bless her !) in Congress assembled. Stand 
firm, and you will see how it feels!' In rapid succession the pieces 
were fired, the ship thrilling and the distant hills reverberating with 
the thunder-peals. The instantaneous combustion of forty pounds 
of gunpowder in a discharge from the 'Peacemaker' closed the 
round of twenty-six guns. The deck of the ship was enveloped in 
smoke. We came near falling over the venerable Ex-President 
Adams in the momentary darkness. Captain Stockton's voice rose 
high amid the din of the battle. 'It's nothing but honest gunpow- 
der, gentlemen ; it has a strong smell of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, but it's none the worse for that. That's the kind of music 
when negotiations fail. It has a little of the ring of the earthquake, 
but it tells handsomely on salt water.' Some one asked Mr. Speaker 
Jones what was the main question before the House. The Speaker 
promptly rejoined that 'the main question was the Navy, and that 
it had been carried by the casting vote of the Peacemaker.' 

"In due season the deputation of visitation were called to dinner 
in the cabin on the middle deck, extending the whole length of the 
ship. Captain Stockton is a man of wealth ; and the scruples of the 
friends of retrenchment will be appeased when they learn that the 
magnificent feast prepared for the occasion was drawn, to the extent 
of the 'extras,' from the Captain's private resources. It was a feast 
of substantial and delicacies worthy the coronation-day of a South 
American Emperor. Ducks and chickens, turkeys and hams, beef 
a-la-mode, and partridges, &c. ; ice creams, oranges, apples, raisins, 

almonds, &c.; champagne, sherry, cognac, and but we forbear 

to trespass upon the feelings of the Washingtonian tee-totallers. 

"The ship passed below Alexandria, till the Hill of Mount Vernon 
and the sacred residence of Washington loomed into view on the 
right, and the frowning battlements of Fort Washington on the left, 
when she turned about and returned. Several experimental shots 



86 SENSATION ^EATED BY THE VESSEL. 

were made from the 'Peacemaker' during the trip; and those solid 
balls of two hundred and thirty pounds skimmed the surface of the 
water for several miles with the lightness of an arrow. 

"Nearly the whole of the Ohio delegation were on board, and we 
were gratified to learn that General Moore was sufficiently restored 
to be present. Captain Stockton goes for Oregon. He says if the 
question is brought to the tug of war, he will undertake to defend 
the mouth of the Columbia with his single ship. A nobler and a 
hardier man — a man whose appearance more favourably impresses 
you with his qualifications as a man and a sailor — is not to be found 
than Captain Stockton. 

"The ship returned by three o'clock, having steamed it part of 
the way at twelve knots an hour. The river was filled with floating 
ice, and an occasional canvas-back duck. It was a great trip; and, 
if any thing would have mitigated Mr. Cave Johnson's determina- 
tion to retrench, it would have been this excursion ; but it is better, 
perhaps, for the long purse of the people that he was not of this 
Congressional deputation of visitation." 

The following is from the Washington correspondent of the New 
York Herald: — 

"Although particularly requested not to particularize individuals, 
yet I shall transgress so far as to mention the name of Captain 
Stockton, who made his first appearance here at the levee. He was 
attended by a crowd wherever he moved, and again and again was 
he obliged to recount the exploits of the Princeton, especially in 
coming up through the ice of the Potomac. The utter astonishment 
and amazement which she created among the inhabitants upon the 
banks of the river is not easily conceived, as they beheld this fairy 
phantom-ship, without a patch of sail spread upon her spars, or a 
living soul upon her decks, — without the slightest evidence of steam, 
fire, light, or life, on board, still plowing her onward way through 
the immense thickness of ice, ripping, tearing, breaking, crushing 
it with irresistible power, — mirahile dictu! The Messrs. Harpers 
will please issue proposals for a new edition of the 'Arabian Nights,' 
and Irving must retouch his legends of the 'Flying Dutchman ;' for 
the age of romance is come again. 

"To-day the Captain invigorates, advises, and prepares; and to- 
morrow the President and suite — a private party — will visit the 
Princeton. It will be a select party, but I think you will get a 
report of it." 

Undoubtedly the iclat which Mr. Stockton obtained by his suc- 
cessful construction of the Princeton provoked the jealousy of some 



SECOND EXCURSION ON THE POTOMAC. 87 

petty spirits in the navy; and soon after her return from the 
Mediterranean, and immediately following the resignation of his 
commission in the navy by Mr. Stockton, she was directed to be 
broken up, on the pretence that her timbers were so rotten as to 
render her repair impracticable ; but immediately upon the election 
of Commodore Stockton to the Senate of the United States, she was 
ordered to be rebuilt. But her model was spoiled and her ma- 
chinery changed, so that she in no way resembled herself as she 
came from the hands of her original architect. In a speech in the 
Senate on the navy, Commodore Stockton pronounced her, as re- 
built, "an aborfion in the service."* 

No vessel, during the Mexican war, was more useful than the 
Princeton in the Gulf of Mexico. The records of the Navy De- 
partment will show that she performed more service than all the rest 
of the Gulf squadron put together. 

On the 28th of February, the President, Cabinet, and a large 
number of members of Congress, and distinguished strangers in 
Washington, went on board the Princeton for an experimental ex- 
cursion. The beauty and the chivalry of the United States assem- 
bled at the seat of government were also present. A more gay, 
joyous, or delighted company seldom before were ever gathered to- 
gether on the deck of any one of our national ships. It was a 
beautiful, bright day, and the resplendent sun blazed upon the firma- 
ment without a cloud to threaten his efiulgence. The Potomac was 
unruffled by a breeze, its glassy surface presenting the lustre and 
serenity of a perfect mirror. As the Princeton, without the aid of 
wind or current, smoothly pursued her way as if moved by some un- 
seen agency, no cloud of smoke marked her progress, no uncouth 
sounds of jarring machinery mingled with the voice of festivity 
which rose in pleasant harmony from the deck of the gallant vessel. 
There were grave matrons, mothers of the naval and army heroes of 
the country ; there were illustrious senators and curious statesmen ; 
and there were youth and beauty, light-hearted and joyous. There, 
too, were gallant post-captains, generals, distinguished engineers, 
and men of science, come to feast their eyes upon this nautical 
wonder, this gem of the ocean, this last effort of American genius, 
skill, and architectural ingenuity. 

It is not possible to suppose that the heart of the gallant com- 
mander did not throb with patriotic exultation, or that he did not 
consider all his risks in past years, his toils, his hardships, the 

* See Appendix. 



bb BURSTIN^^ THE PEACEMAKER. 

sneers of enemies and the derision of the ignorant, (which had so 
often, within a short time previous, lightly esteemed his experiment 
in the construction of this ship,) more than compensated by the 
universal homage which rewarded his success. The grateful tribute 
of general popular admiration and applause now flowed upon him in 
torrents. "He was the observed of all observers." We have been 
informed that he has himself said that on that day he felt perfectly 
happy. lie had attained the acme of his hopes for the navy and his 
country ; yet, from that lofty height of honourable exaltation, in a 
single instant, with the flash of a gun, he was plunged into w'o un- 
utterable, and prostrated to the earth with the groans of the dying 
and the lamentation of the living vibrating with agonizing poig- 
nancy through every avenue of consciousness. 

During her progress down the Potomac, the great guns on the 
Princeton had been again and again discharged, until public curi- 
osity appeared to be satiated. The company had returned below, 
and at the festive board the voice of hilarity resounded through the 
decks of the proud ship. Toasts were given appropriate to the 
occasion, and all went merry as the sound of marriage-bells. The 
feast of reason and the flow of soul was nearly spent. Some of the 
guests had commenced retiring from the board and renewing their 
scrutiny on the difierent parts of the ship. Captain Stockton had 
risen to ofi"er a toast complimentary to the chief magistrate of the 
republic. As he rose, Avith his wine-glass filled in his hand, an ofiicer 
entered and informed him that some of the company desired one of 
the great guns to be again discharged. Captain S. shook his head, 
and saying "No more guns to-night," dismissed the ofiicer. lie soon 
again returned, while Captain S. was speaking on the subject of his 
toast, with a message from the Secretary of the Navy expressive of 
his desire to see one of the big guns fired once more. This message 
Captain Stockton considered equivalent to an order, and immediately 
went on deck to obey it. He placed himself upon the breech of the 
gun, aimed, and fired. Feeling a sensible shock, stunned and en- 
veloped in a cloud of smoke, for an instant he could not account for 
his sensations. But, in a few seconds, as the smoke cleared, and 
the groans of the Avounded and the shrieks of the bystanders who 
were unhurt resounded over the decks, the terrible catastrophe which 
had happened was revealed. But, in that appalling hour, when 
other men in similar circumstances would have been utterly para- 
lyzed, if not crushed into utter imbecility, he, of all the crowd around, 
alone seemed to retain possession of his faculties. He was severely 
hurt, but the strength of his intellectual powers, now intensely con- 



DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF THE ACCIDENT. 89 

centrated, sustained him. Calmly but clearly his voice pealed over 
the elements of confusion and disturbance; and a few brief orders, 
recalling his men to a sense of duty, were given, the dead and the 
wounded ascertained, and all proper dispositions respecting both 
being made, when, as he turned to leave the sad scene, he fell into 
the arms of his men exhausted physically, and was borne insensible 
to his bed. 

The unfortunate suflFerers by the explosion who were killed were 
the Hon. Abel P.Upshur, Secretary of State; the Hon. Thomas 
W. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy ; Captain Beverley Kennon, 
United States Navy ; Hon. Virgil Maxey, of Maryland ; and the 
Hon. David Gardiner, father-in-law of the President. 

We need not say that none among the friends of the deceased 
were more sorrow-stricken by their untimely fate than Captain 
Stockton. But every generous and susceptible heart in the nation, 
acquainted with the man, felt and knew that he was entitled to a 
full proportion of their commiseration. 

Every disposition was manifested, by the press and the public, to 
consider the catastrophe temperately and justly. 

The following is an extract from one of the cotemporary New 
York papers, which, with the Report of the Court of Inquiry, be- 
longs to the history of this event : — 

"UNITED STATES STEAMSHIP PRINCETON. 

" This noble ship left the Potomac on Tuesday for Philadelphia. 
Captain Stockton, though yet much indisposed from the effects of 
the recent accident, is on board the ship. 

"We copy from the Washington papers of yesterday the annexed 
Official Report of the Naval Court of Inquiry — composed of Cap- 
tains Bolton, McKeever, and Aulick — appointed to investigate and 
report upon the circumstances connected with the late disastrous ex- 
plosion on board the Princeton. The result of the investigation, 
carefully and fairly- made, shows that the occurrence in question was 
one of those which sometimes take place notwithstanding the 
exercise of the utmost human care and precaution combined with 
thorough skill and science. The perfect success achieved by Cap- 
tain Stockton in the construction of the Princeton constitutes a 
triumph in the art of naval defence of which the country has just 
reason to be proud, and the melancholy catastrophe under considera- 
tion no more detracts from the praise due to Captain Stockton 
than did the event — strikingly parallel in its character — of the 



CO REPORT ^^THE COURT OF INQL'IKY. 

death of ^Ir. Iluskisson, the British statesman, at the memorable 
original trial of locomotive steam-power on the Liverpool and Man- 
chester Railroad, take from the merits of Ericsson and others, 
whose inventive genius has since led to such astonishing results. 

"OFFICIAL REPORT. 

" The Naval Court of Inquiry convened by order of the Secretary 
of the Navy, by a precept under his hand, bearing date the 6th day 
of March instant, for the purpose of inquiring into the conduct of 
Captain llobert F. Stockton and officers, in relation to the experi- 
ments and proofs which preceded the construction and the proof 
and subsequent explosion of one of the great guns of the Princeton, 
occasioning the awful and distressing catastrophe which has recently 
occurred on board the said ship, and to report the opinion of said 
court on the matters thus referred to it, respectfully submit to the 
consideration of the Honourable the Secretary of the Navy the evi- 
dence which has been laid before it in relation to the premises. 

" In further performance of the duty imposed on it, the court 
would respectfully report : — 

" That, in pursuing the investigation with which it has been 
charged, the court was limited to the facts and circumstances im- 
mediately connected with the captain and officers of the Princeton 
anterior to and immediately attending the explosion of one of the 
large guns on board that vessel on the 28th February last. This 
investigation has satisfied the court. 

" That, in the year 1839, Captain Stockton being in England, 
his attention was attracted to the extraordinary and important im- 
provements which had recently been introduced into the manufac- 
ture of large masses of wrought-iron, as a substitute for cast-iron, 
for objects which required a combination of strength and adhesive- 
ness or toughness. Large shafts for steam-engines had been thus 
fabricated, which experience had demonstrated to be superior, in 
those qualities which were desirable, to the same articles manufac- 
tm'ed of cast-iron. 

" These circumstances appear to have led Captain Stockton to 
consider the question how far the same material might be employed 
in the construction of cannon of a large calibre. He appears to 
have been animated by motives tlie most patriotic, stimulated by 
the laudable desire of being himself instrumental in promoting the 
honour of his country and of elevating that branch of the service 
with which he was personally connected. To what extent his 



REPORT OF THE COURT OP INQUIRY. 91 

inquiries were carried the court has not been advised ; but it is in 
evidence that he did advise and consult with three gentlemen pos- 
sessing, from their scientific acquirements and practical experience 
on such subjects, very superior qualifications in questions of this 
character, and whose opinions were entitled to high respect : — Mr. 
William Young, Captain Ericsson, and Francis B. Ogden, Esq., 
are the gentlemen to whom allusion is made. 

" After much deliberation, and several consultations, with cal- 
culations furnished from the same quarter, Captain Stockton deter- 
mined upon the construction of a gun of the proposed dimensions, 
for the purpose of testing the opinions of scientific men by the 
results of experience. A cannon was accordingly made at the 
Mersey Works, of Yorkshire iron, which, being approved of, was 
shipped to the United States. Having been properly prepared for 
the purpose, this gun was carried to Sandy Hook and subjected to 
what was deemed the proper test. After the first firing, prepara- 
tions were made to mount the gun. In doing this a crack was per- 
ceived opposite the chamber, which induced Captain Stockton to 
have the breech strengthened by putting bands around it. These 
bands are represented as being three and a half inches in thickness. 
With this additional strength given to the defective part of the gun, 
the experiments were renewed, and the result was a decided convic- 
tion upon the minds of all connected with them, that, in general, 
the anticipations of Captain Stockton were perfectly realized ; and, 
secondly, that if a gun of this construction should yield to the force 
of the trial, it would be by a simple opening, and not, as in cast- 
iron, a violent disruption and scattering of the fragments. 

" The success of these experiments was such as to decide Captain 
Stockton forthwith to direct the construction of another gun of a 
similar character, to be made of American iron, which is usually 
regarded as superior in strength and tenacity to the English iron. 
This second gun — the same which exploded on board the Princeton — 
was constructed with a chamber similar to that of the first gun, with 
an additional thickness of twelve inches at the breech, — a diflference, 
even if the metal were only of equal goodness, far more than suffi- 
cient to compensate for the bands by which the first had been 
fortified. 

" Application was made to Colonel Bomford, of the Ordnance 
Department of the Army, who, it is well known, has been profes- 
sionally occupied in experimenting upon guns of a large calibre, 
and his opinion requested as to the proper proof to which such a 
gun ought to be subjected. The proof suggested by Colonel Bom- 



92 REPORT^j" THR nOTTRT OF INQUIRY. 

ford as a suitable one will be found in his letter of November 25, 
1840, appended to the record. The new gun constructed by order 
of Captain Stockton exceeded in dimensions and weight, conse- 
quently should also have surpassed in strength, that contemplated 
by Colonel Bomford, they being of the same calibre ; and the proof 
to which this cannon was subjected was much more severe than 
what was proposed as suflficient by that experienced oflBcer. 

«' In view of all the circumstances briefly adverted to, but minutely 
detailed in the evidence which is spread upon the record, the court 
entertains a distinct and confident opinion that, in originally form- 
ing the plan for the construction of large guns. Captain Stockton 
proceeded on well-established practical facts ; that, in coming to a 
decision upon the feasibility of the contemplated project, he did not 
rely upon his own theoretical opinions, but resorted to men of 
science and practical skill for advice, and that he was fully sus- 
tained by their judgment in every particular ; that a series of 
experiments and trials with the two guns fully sustained the deduc- 
tions of the gentlemen whose advice was sought, and justified the 
most assured confidence in the durability and efficiency of the gun. 

" In regard to the mode of loading and firing on every occasion, 
and emphatically that which was followed by the explosion, it is 
established by the fullest proof, to the entire satisfaction of the 
court, that every care and attention which prudence and profes- 
sional capacity could dictate was observed. No shadow of censure 
in this respect can be attached to any officer or any of the crew of 
the Princeton. 

<< In regard to the conduct and deportment of the captain and 
officers of the Princeton on the occasion of the deplorable catastrophe 
which occurred on the 28th of February last, the court feels itself 
bound to express its opinion that in all respects they were such as 
were to be expected from gallant and well-trained officers, sustain- 
ing their own personal character and that of the service : — marked 
with the most perfect order, subordination, and steadiness. 

" In conclusion, the court is also decidedly of opinion that not 
only was every precaution taken which skill, regulated by prudence 
and animated by the loftiest motives, could devise to guard against 
accident, but that Captain Stockton, Lieutenant Hunt, and Mr. 
King, the gunner, who had attended to and directed all the experi- 
ments and trials of these guns, exhibited only a due confidence in 
what they had witnessed, in placing themselves on every occasion, 
and particularly on that of the explosion, almost in contact with 
the gun, and in a position apparently not only more dangerous than 



STOCKTON PREDICTS THE MEXICAN WAK. 93 

any other, but that which might rationally have been deemed the 
only perilous situation on board the vessel. 

" The court, having thus completed its business, adjourned sine die. 
«' (Signed) W. C. Bolton, President. 

"Richard S. Coxe, Judge- Advocate." 

Captain Stockton was selected by President Tyler, at the close 
of his administration, as the bearer of the celebrated annexation 
resolutions to the government of Texas. Immediately on the adop- 
tion of the resolutions by Congress, he sailed on this mission, in the 
steamer Princeton, for Galveston. The delicate and important 
duties with which he was charged he performed in such a manner 
as to obtain the entire approval of the new administration of 
Mr. Polk. 

While in Texas, his prescient eye foresaw the coming conflict with 
Mexico ; and on his return to Washington he communicated to Mr. 
Polk the grounds of his belief that war would soon commence. He 
aJso expressed an earnest desire, in that event, for some command 
which would enable him to take an active part in the anticipated 
contest. 



94 ORDERED TO THE FRIGATE CONGRESS. 



• TO 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CAPTAIN STOCKTON ORDERED TO THE FRIQATE CONGRESS — HIS LETTER TO THE SECRE- 
TARY OF THE NAVY SAILS FOR THE SANDWICH ISLANDS VOYAGE A SABBATH 

ON THE CONGRESS— INCIDENT AT CALLAO — DIFFICULTIES IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 
WITH THE NATIVE GOVERNMENT — SPEECH IN PRESENCE OF THE KING — SAILS FOR 
MONTEREY. 

Mr. Polk concurred with Captain Stockton in his opinion re- 
specting the probability of a war with Mexico ; and, looking upon 
California as the proper theatre on the Pacific coast for the prose- 
cution of hostilities against Mexico in the event of a war, he dis- 
played his confidence in the discretion of Captain Stockton by ap- 
pointing him to reinforce our squadron in that quarter. The reports 
from the emigrants who had been allured to California by promises 
of liberal grants of land were beginning to excite much interest in 
the United States for that country; and some indications of a grow- 
ing cupidity for its acquisition may be discovered in the ncAvspapers 
of 1844-5, as well as in the debates of Congress. After the declara- 
tion of war, the avidity of the government for the conquest of Cali- 
fornia was manifested in its instructions to both naval and military 
officers ; and, in its eagerness for the acquisition, instructions were 
indiscriminately given to both arms of the service in such a manner 
as created a conflict of authority. 

At this time, however, Captain Stockton supposed, from the un- 
settled question of the Oregon boundary, that there was about the 
same probability of war with England as with Mexico. He would 
therefore have preferred service in a quarter where he would be 
more likely to meet an enemy on his own element, whose immense 
resources and powerful marine would test to its utmost capacity the 
skill and valour of the American navy. 

The Baltimore National Democratic Convention had pledged the 
new administration to the boundary of 54° 40', and Captain Stock- 
ton believed that the administration were disposed to redeem that 
pledge ; they probably would have been compelled to do so had not 
the difficulty with Mexico intervened. 

The frigate Constellation was first designated as the ship to the 
command of which he would be appointed ; but, subsequently, he 



LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 95 

was ordered to hoist his broad pennant on the Congress, which could 
be got ready for sea in less time, and in her he was instructed to 
convey the commissioner, Mr. Ten Eycke, to the Sandwich Islands, 
with sealed orders respecting his future destination. 

His letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated on the Congress, 
at Norfolk, and written on the eve of sailing, (and which we annex,) 
details graphically the history of his appointment to that ship. It 
likewise affords striking evidence of the avidity with which he sought 
a post where danger threatened and glory might be achieved. It 
shows also how keenly sensitive he was (in the possible event of a 
war with Great Britain) of being supposed "a volunteer" on service 
remote from danger. The concluding paragraph of this letter, 
breathing a lofty and self-sacrificing spirit of devoted patriotism, is 
a fitting prologue to the grand drama of the California campaign : — 

"United States Feioate Congress, 
Norfolk, Va., October 24, 1845. 

"Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 17th, ordering me to proceed in the Congress to the 
Sandwich Islands, &c. &c. ; and also the < sealed orders' which I 
am not to open till I am 'beyond the capes of Virginia.' 

<'The following expression in your letter of the 17th — 'So soon 
as the United States frigate of which you have volmiteered to take 
command, in connection with the ^^ sealed package," ' — has given 
rise in my mind to some reflections that prompt me to recall to your 
remembrance, in the most humble and respectful manner, the cir- 
cumstances under which I felt constrained, by every principle of 
patriotism and personal honour, to accept or volunteer for the com- 
mand of the Congress. 

" Having performed, in the best way I could, the duty assigned to 
me in Texas, I returned to the United States, to bring the glad 
tidings of annexation, and to explain to you my views (the import- 
ance of which I no doubt overrated) in regard to our relations with 
Mexico. During those conversations I stated to you that I thought 
Mexico would probably, when ready, commence hostilities. You 
suggested that it was important to have the Princeton back in the 
Gulf as soon as possible, that a constant and certain communication 
might be kept up with Vera Cruz ; and mentioned Commander 
Engle as the officer whom you thought of ordering to command her, 
and ordered me to make the necessary arrangements to fit out the 
Constellation. My only desire was to do as you wished, and to be 
ready, with a good ship under me, to take part — any part — in the 



96 SAILS FOR THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

expected conflict in the Gulf. I was satisfied with the Princeton ; 
I applied for no change ; I suggested none. But, as you wanted the 
Princeton as a tender to Commodore Conner, and offered me the 
Constellation in her place, I was still better pleased, because I 
thought I was pleasing you and at the same time would have a 
ship lai-gcr, stronger, and more effective even, than the Princeton, 
and that I would then be ready for war, come from where it might. 
You changed your notions, and ordered me to proceed no farther 
with the Constellation. The Princeton had gone to the Gulf, and I 
was a volunteer idler on shore, having left a cruising ship at a time 
of threatened hostilities. To relieve myself from this painful situa- 
tion you offered me no facility, and I saw no way open but to apply 
to fit out the Congress or some other ship. If you had time to 
give to my poor character and position a few moments' considera- 
tion, I am sure you w^ould appreciate the feelings which prompted 
me to ask to fit out the Congress, and would not suppose for one 
moment that I could have volunteered to command the Congress 
as she now is, with < sealed orders' and twelve passengers — men, 
women, and cldldren. My great object in the first place was to be 
prepared, in the event of a war with Mexico, to try to do something 
creditable to the navy. If Mexico did not make war, I wanted 
then to get a ship ready for England, that might be able to keep 
the station to which she Avas ordered, and not to go cruising about 
with passengers in time of peace, and in war to run away (as the 
Congress must necessarily do) from the English squadron in the 
Pacific. They not only have a much larger squadron, led by an 
eighty-gun-ship, but have means of communication which will enable 
them to receive their despatches months before we can. 

" But here I am ; and, whatever that ominous-looking package 
may contain, and wherever I am ordered to go, or whatever I am 
ordered to do, by the leave of Providence there I will go, and 
that I will do, in the best way I can. 

"Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

" R. F. Stockton. 

« To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

'■''Secretary of the Navy" 

On the 25th of October, the Congress heaved anchor and pro- 
ceeded with a light breeze towards sea. On reaching Hampton 
Roads, the wind out ahead, the anchors were reluctantly dropped. 
There, for five weary days, lay the gallant vessel, like a hound in 
leash, impatient to bound over the mighty plain of waters on her 



THE VOYAGE. 97 

destined mission. On the 28th, to while away the time and relieve 
the disappointment which clouded every countenance, on account 
of the unfavourable breeze which detained her, a mimic battle was 
performed, sola cum sola. The guns were fii-ed, the boarders 
called, and all the forms of a naval engagement took place. The 
enthusiasm and excitement of the performance were well adapted 
to display the characteristics of the men, and enable the oflBcers to 
form some estimate of the materials of which the ship's crew was 
composed. 

The Rev. Walter Colton was chaplain to the Congress, and to his 
diary kept on this voyage, and published subsequently under the 
title of Deck and Port, we are indebted for many interesting 
details respecting the Congress. Page 17 of "Deck and Port," Mr. 
Colton says : — <■<■ The sailors are proud of our frigate — and well they 
may be ; she is a splendid specimen of naval architecture. For 
capacity, strength, and harmony of proportions, she stands in her 
class without a rival in the world. She is so much a favourite in 
the service that one old sailor travelled all the way from Pensacola 
to Norfolk in the mail-stage, and at his own expense, to join her. 
We had our complement of seamen, but his was so strong a case he 
could not be denied. 

"We number about two hundred souls, all told; have laid in pro- 
visions and fuel for five months, with fifty thousand gallons of 
water, and sails and rigging sufficient to replace what is now in use, 
should emergency demand. 

« October 29. — I have been occupied to-day in arranging in 
suitable cases the library of the crew, — a library comprising between 
three and four hundred volumes. For many of the miscellaneous 
and religious books I am indebted to the Presbyterian Board of 
Publication, to the Sunday-school Union, to the American Tract 
Society, and to the liberality of Commodore Stockton. 

" Thursday, October 30. — The long-looked-for breeze came at 
last. It was a southwester, and at daylight this morning we 
weighed anchor and got under way. When we had cleared the 
capes of old Virginia, all hands were called, and Commodore Stock- 
ton delivered the following brief and appropriate address to the 
officers and crew : — 

< Captain Dupont, (executive officer of the ship,) and Officers : — 
Your reputation in the service is a sufficient guarantee that the 
cruise before us will enlist your highest energies and zeal. 

" Men : — Your conduct since you have been on board the ship jus- 
tifies the strongest confidence in your fidelity. Above us floats the 



98 ARRIVES AT CALLAO. 

flag of our country ; to your patriotism and undaunted valour I 
intrust its honour, dearer to me than life. We now sail for Cali- 
fornia and Oregon ; and then where it may please Heaven. 

"Tlicn, turning to the chaplain, he said, 'You will offer up prayers 
to Almighty God for his protection.' 

" This service performed, the broad pennant was saluted, the ship 
cheered, and the band struck up ' Hail Columbia.' 

" The whole ceremony was well calculated to inspire a jealous 
regard for the honour of our flag and impress sentiments of depend- 
ence on the divine protection', so well becoming those who <go down 
to the sea in ships, and who see the wonders of the Lord in the 
deep.' "* 

The following extract from the Rev. Mr. Colton's diary will illus- 
trate the kind interest manifested by Commodore Stockton in those 
undei- his command : — 

" Wednesday, Nov. 19. — We have three sailors in the nick hay 
to-day, in a very critical condition. They are all good men, so far 
at least as ship-duty is concerned. Their death would make a 
serious breach in the crew. Our intelligent surgeon and his faith- 
ful assistants are devoted to them. They are not left, night or day, 
for an hour without a medical attendant. Commodore Stockton 
went into the sick bay to-day to see them. He never forgets the 
sailor ; he pities when others might reproach, forgives when others 
might denounce, and never abandons him even though he should 
abandon himself, and yet he exacts prompt obedience. His dis- 
cipline and that of Captain Dupont is derived, in a great measure, 
from moral influence, the power of correct example, and the pres- 
sure of circumstance. t" 

The Congress arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the 21st December, 
and, after a short stay required for some necessary repairs, pro- 
ceeded on her voyage. Cape Horn was soon doubled, with the 
usual vicissitudes of storms and gales. 

On the 6th of May, the good ship anchored at Valparaiso, 
whence, after receiving fresh supplies of water and provisions, 
she proceeded down the coast to Callao, where the Commodore 
expected he should hear from the Expresses from the United States, 
which he had arranged to meet him there. 

While the Congi-ess was at Callao, an incident happened which 
will show in what manner Commodore Stockton believes American 
citizens should be protected in foreign ports from unjust treatment. 

* "Deck and Port," pp. 19, 20. f " Deck and Port," p. 44. 



INCIDENT AT VALPARAISO. 99 

One morning he received a note from the captain of an American 
merchantman, informing him that the writer had been arrested sud- 
denly in the streets, without just cause, and thrown into prison, and 
urgently requesting that a United States officer might be sent to 
inquire into the circumstances of the affair. Stockton immediately 
ordered a boat and went ashore himself to prosecute the inquiry. 
On landing, he went to the prison, saw the captain, and learned 
from him the facts of the case, which he found likewise corrobo- 
rated by the concurring statements of all present on the occasion. 

The captain of the American ship was coming ashore in his barge, 
when he was purposely run into by the boat of a Peruvian man- 
of-war. This led to a quarrel between the Peruvian and American 
men as soon as they reached the shore. The American captain, 
who had left the wharf before the quarrel commenced, returned 
as soon as he heard of it, in order to assist in quelling the affray. 
While thus engaged, he was seized, and, without any opportunity of 
defending himself, thrown into prison. 

After ascertaining these facts. Commodore Stockton presented 
himself before the civil authorities, and, in polite and courteous 
terms, requested the release of his countryman. This was refused 
without hesitation, in a peremptory manner. Stockton then, as- 
suming: a different tone, demanded the immediate liberation of the 
American, or he would undertake himself to release him. The 
authorities, now seeing that he was in earnest, asked for time to send 
to Lima to know the pleasure of the government on the case. 
Stockton would grant them no such accommodation ; but, pulling 
out his watch, said he would give them fifteen minutes to determine 
whether they would surrender the American peaceably, and if he 
were not given up in that time, he would lay the United States ship- 
of-war Congress where her guns would soon open the prison-doors. 
The prisoner was released at once.* 

On the 9th day of May the Congress sailed from Callao, and, 
turning westward, directed her course to the far-distant isles to 
which she was bound. No adventures or occurrences of a novel 
character diversified the usual monotony of a voyage across the 
Pacific. 

The Rev. Mr. Colton, in his diary, remarks frequently on the 
strict observance of Sunday on board the Congress. Officers and 
crew all united in attendance on divine service. 

The following passage from "Deck and Port" will exhibit the 

* The Captain, on his return to the United States, did not fail to make this inci- 
dent known. 



100 TAKES PAB^N RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 

Commodore in a new character, and ■well illustrates his versatility of 
talent and his respect for religion : — 

<■<■ Sunday^ June 7. — Commodore Stockton, •who has always taken 
an interest in our religious exercises, having occasion to speak to 
the crew to-day, I induced him to extend his remarks to topics more 
sacred than tliose which lay within his original purpose. He spoke 
of the Bible as that crowning revelation which God has made of 
himself to man, of its elevating influences on the human soul, of the 
priceless counsels which it conveys, and the immortal hopes which 
it awakens. 

" He contrasted the gloomy condition of those tribes and nations 
which were without it with that of those where its steady light shone, 
and found in this contrast a vindication of its divinity which none 
could gainsay or resist. 

"lie commended its habitual study to the officers and crew as our 
only infallible rule of duty, — as our only safe guiding-light in the 
mental and moral twilight of our being here. 

" He rebuked the idea that religion was out of its element among 
sailors, and told them that of all classes of men they were the one 
that most needed its restraining influences and glorious promises, 
and denounced as insane a disposition to trifle with its precepts. 

"He commended the good conduct of the crew on the Sabbath, 
and expressed the earnest hope that they would continue, in the 
event of a probable separation from them, the same respectful and 
earnest regard for the duties of religion. 

" Such remarks as these, conning from the commander of a ship or 
squadron, will do more to sustain a chaplain in the discharge of his 
difficult duties than any privileges which can bo conferred upon him 
through the provisions of law. They honour the heart from which 
they flow, and their influence will be felt in the moral well-being of 
hundreds when that heart shall have ceased to beat. The tree you 
have planted will grow, and its fruit come to maturity, though you 
see it not." 

In another place, Mr. Colton says, wuth reference to the observ- 
ance of religious duties by the crew: — 

"The efi'ect of this on the discipline of the ship is too marked to 
escape observation. There is no disobedience and no punishment. 
Each performs with alacrity the duties of his station. It would 
seem as if we might throw every instrument of correction and coer- 
cion overboard; their requirement for the present, at least, has 
ceased. Give me the religious sentiment in a crew, and you may 
sink your handcufls, cats, and Colts, in the depths of the ocean." 



ARRIVES AT HONOLULU. 101 

On the 9th of June the Congress let go her anchors in the port 
of Honolulu, after making one of the shortest runs on record 
from Callao, having left the latter port on the 9th of May. 

The Commodore found on his arrival that all intercourse hetween 
the King's government and the American Commissioner, Mr. Brown, 
(superseded by Mr. Ten Eycke,) had been suspended, and that the 
most unfriendly feelings existed between them. The American flag 
had been hauled down by Mr. Brown and his functions suspended. 
He was much irritated with the King and his ministry, and made 
grievous complaints to the Commodore of the manner in which he 
had been treated. 

Mr. Brown unfortunately had, with or without cause, in imita- 
tion of the British and French, assumed a dictatorial attitude that, 
after long discussions, terminated in a complete rupture. The 
English and French commanders of squadrons which had visited 
Honolulu a short time previous, with powerful fleets to back them, 
had bullied and hectored the King, and extorted at the cannon's 
mouth their unjust and exorbitant demands. Mr. Brown, with no 
such auxiliaries, had attempted likewise to act the dictator. His 
demands were rejected, and he expected to use the first American 
ship-of-war which visited the Sandwich Isles for the purpose of 
punishing the refractory King and his subjects. 

Commodore Stockton was fully informed by Mr. Ten Eycke of 
the history of these difficulties, and saw very soon that there were 
faults on both sides, and that Mr. Brown's temper and spirit, toge- 
ther with the part taken in the affiiir by the foreign residents, had 
complicated the dispute until it was beyond his control. The course 
of Mr. Brown had so incensed the King and his ministers that no 
disposition to receive Mr. Ten Eycke was manifested. Mr. Ten 
Eycke felt embarrassed by the difficulties which presented them- 
selves, and in this disagreeable state of afi'airs applied to Commo- 
dore Stockton to extricate him from the dilemma, and, if possible, 
to efi"ect such a reconciliation as would enable him to enter upon 
the discharge of the duties of his office. 

In reply to Mr. Ten Eycke's invitation that he should act the 
part of mediator. Commodore Stockton said to him that, if ho would 
leave the whole matter to his discretion, without any interference 
whatever, he would undertake it. Mr. Ten Eycke having assented, 
the Commodore immediately wrote a note to the Minister of 
Foreign Afi"airs, and informed him that, the duty of negotiating with 
the government having been devolved upon him, (Stockton,) he 
would suggest that an informal meeting, which might save writing 



102 MR. TEX EYCKa^RESENTS HIS CREDENTIALS. 



and misunderstanding, would probably facilitate the objects of both. 
The minister consented to the interview, and the Commodore called 
the next day and had two hours' conversation with him. The Com- 
modore told him that he much regretted the existing misunder- 
standing, but thought there was nothing in it which should perma- 
nently estrange the two governments ; that he had not come there to 
use force or intimidation, as others had done; that ho had no author- 
ity to exert force except for the protection of citizens of the United 
States unjustly assailed; and that he desired to know how and in 
what manner he could best aid in the restoration of good feelings 
between the King's government and the representatives of the United 
States. The interview finally resulted in a thorough and complete 
amicable understanding. The minister on the following day called 
on the Commodore and expressed himself gratified and surprised 
at his unlooked-for and friendly interposition, and said that he 
had been directed by the King to express the high sense which 
the government entertained of the Commodore's liberality and 
justice. 

Mr. Brown was indignant at first with this advance of Commo- 
dore Stockton, and in conversation with him spoke of the King in 
such contemptuous terms — as a tawny red-skin — that the Commo- 
dore felt constrained to tell him that such disrespectful language, 
applied to the chief magistrate of the country to which he had been 
appointed to represent the United States, was altogether incon- 
sistent with his position ; that, if the King were actually as igno- 
rant and degraded as a barbarian African chief, it would still be the 
duty of the representative of the United States at his court to ex- 
hibit towards him the most respectful deportment ; that, for his 
part, he would treat the King with the same respect that he would 
Queen Victoria or the Emperor Nicholas. 

Finally, Mr. Brown, convinced by the remonstrances of Commo- 
dore Stockton of the impolicy of his course, modified his views, and 
even consented to be present at the first audience of his successor by 
the King. 

Mr. Ten Eycke presented his credentials on the 18th of June, 
when he was received by the King in state ; he accompanied their 
presentment with a few appropriate remarks, which were followed 
by a brief address from Commodore Stockton, who expressed his 
earnest hope that uninterrupted amity might prevail between the 
two countries. He assured the King of the lively interest felt in the 
United States for the successful issue of all his majesty's plans and 
purposes for the benefit of his people, and pledged the cordial sup- 



DELIVERS AN ADDRESS IN THE KING'S CHAPEL. 103 

port of our government in any aggressive emergencies which might 
threaten the tranquillity and integrity of his realm.* 

The following interesting scene, as described by the Rev. Mr. 
Colton, will, we are sure, be perused with pleasure by all- who feel 
an interest in the subject of our narrative: — 

^^ Sunday, June 21. — I exchanged with Mr. Duncan this morn- 
ing, — he officiating on board the Congress, while I took his place in 
the Seamen's Chapel. The frigate had the advantage in the 
arrangement, but I intended to look out for my floating parish. 
In the afternoon I was, by appointment, in the pulpit of the King's 
chapel. 

" The spacious edifice was crowded. His Majesty, the court, and 
chiefs, were present, and an auditory of some three thousand. They 
had assembled under the vague expectation that Commodore Stock- 
ton might address them; for a report to that effect, without the 
Commodore's knowledge, had been circulated through the town. I 
felt, in common with the missionaries, a desire that they should not be 
disappointed. But, as the Commodore was wholly unprepared, and 
averse to any arrangements that might seemingly trench upon pro- 
prieties, it was no easy matter to have their wishes realized. 

"Backed by the Rev. Mr. Armstrong, I made a bold push, and, 
having addressed the audience for half an hour, through him as 
interpreter, on the religious enterprises in our own country, which 
■were throwing their light and influence into other lands, stated that 
I was aware of their desire that Commodore Stockton should 
address them, and that I would take the liberty of expressing the 
hope that he would gratify their wishes. He was sitting at the 
time by the side of the King; and, while the choir were singing a 
hymn, Mr. Armstrong descended from the pulpit and urged with 
him the publia expectation. He finally assented, and, taking the 
platform under the pulpit, commenced a train of pertinent and 
eloquent remarks." 

Mr. Colton, after a brief synopsis of the Commodore's address, 
proceeds: — 

"Such was the tenor of his remarks, which were delivered with as 
much freedom and force as if they had been well considered and 
arranged. Their effect was obvious in the eager attention which 
pervaded the great assemblage. At the conclusion, the King and 
the chiefs came up, and, with undisguised emotion, thanked the 
Commodore for his address. The Commodore may win laurels on 

" Deck and Port," p. 349. 



104 REPORT OF THE ADDRESS. 

the deck, but none that can bloom more lastingly than these. If 
there be consolations in death, they flow from efforts made and 
triumphs won in the cause of humanity and God." 

Three .days after these ceremonies the Congress sailed for Monte- 
rey, and the Commodore never supposed that note or comment 
would be made of his speech on this occasion. Fortunately, bow- 
ever, it so happened that a native South Sea Island stenographer 
was present and executed a verbatim report of the address in Eng- 
lish, which was subsequently forwarded to the United States by the 
missionaries and republished in 1847 in many religious as well as 
other papers. It is a remarkable production, and displays in an 
eminent degree the intellectual vigour of Commodore Stockton's 
mind as well as the high moral tone of his character. "We should 
be surprised if any one, after a perusal of this discourse, did not 
admit Commodore Stockton to be the most remarkable sailor on 
record. 

COMMODORE STOCKTON'S ADDRESS BEFORE MR. ARMSTRONG'S CON- 
GREGATION ON THE AFTERNOON OF JUNE 21, 1846. 

I came up here this afternoon by no means prepared for such an 
exercise as that requested of me, and, if I consulted my own feelings 
on being thus suddenly called upon, I should certainly remain in 
silence. But standing here in the temple of God, and remembering 
that the opportunity to do good but rarely occurs, while that to do 
mischief and evil is the event of every day, I cannot refuse. What 
I do say I will say in the sincerity of my heart ; it is the feeling I 
entertain towards you all, from your king down to his humblest 
subject, which will not allow me to keep silence. 

We are always in the habit of referring to past times, and speak- 
ing of ancient nations and their learning and knowledge; but the 
truth is that in sound philosophy — paradoxical as it may seem — you 
being the youngest nation are in fact the oldest, and with your 
position as such you bear a commensurate responsibility. You are 
responsible for the advantages which surround you. You have 
been told by your spiritual advisers that our Saviour died for you ; 
his bloody sweat and agonies were for you; his cross and passion 
were for you ; his precious death and burial were for you ; the 
ascension was for you. All the blood and suffering, all the trials 
and all the deaths which have happened in this world in the cause 
of civil and religious liberty, were for you. You have all the advan- 
tages of the past and all those of the present. But all this experi- 
ence purchased by others and all these advantages are not given to 



REPORT OF THE ADDRESS, 105 

your king and you for his and your simple benefit ; it is a solemn 
trust from Almighty God, and all of you will be held responsible 
for the fulfilment of your duties. This is a position you cannot 
escape ; it is written upon every page of the Bible. With that belief, 
let me ask you whether it is not well to consider what the advantages 
are of the age in which you live. Is it your belief that those ad- 
vantages consist in the fact that architecture now raises her stately 
piles, or that the paintings of our day rival the art of the ancient 
masters, or that music swells her most delicious strains? No! 
These are all well. It is well that all the arts and sciences, under 
divine Providence, are rapidly advancing. But it is in the spread 
of God's word and the principles of the gospel that your advantage 
lies. You cannot doubt the advantages of true religious light, or 
that religion is interwoven with man's nature. The history of the 
world shows that the oarliest nations of the earth, no matter how 
far separated, no matter that they had never seen each other or 
heard of each other, all agreed in bowing the knee to the Father of 
light. 

Whence comes this island ? How came this island to lift its 
majestic head above the roaring ocean ? How comes this island to 
be peopled? By the arm of omnipotent power only. Again: how 
comes it that you are known to other nations of the world ? how 
comes it that I see myself surrounded by persons from different and 
distant parts of the globe? how comes it that the missionaries, 
braving every danger, and leaving friends and kindred, live 
among you, your preceptors in the knowledge of God ? How comes 
it? By the will of God. Was it his will, think you, that you 
should merely eat, drink, and be clothed ? Think you it was God's 
will that only the animal and physical wants of man should be ad- 
ministered to? 

The Almighty Power that first created the world afterwards 
destroyed man from off the face of that world. He was kind and 
benevolent, but man was rebellious and wicked. Man became so 
bad, he turned so constantly from the face of God himself, despised 
his warning voice heard in the murmuring leaves, defied his power 
seen in the tempest and felt in the lightning and the earthquake, — 
in short, he became so bad that the only way to recover the earth 
that he had polluted was to destroy him from off it. Hence all the 
world, except one man and his family, were destroyed. Since that 
era God has constantly been bestowing upon man his kindest bless- 
ings, and man has ever since been and still seems to be in rebellion 
against God. Look at the nations of the earth which have been 



106 REP^p' OF THE ADDRESS. 

but arc not. "We have just heard mention made of Rome and 
Greece ; but go back to the farthest page of history, and see how 
nation after nation fell. Their laws were not founded in the fear 
of God, and with them might was right. 

But the Bible teaches peace on earth and good-will towards man. 
Turn over its holy pages, for in them the best lesson in individual 
and national happiness is to be found ; and therefore it is, as I have 
had occasion to observe in another place, that you have enjoyed so 
much happiness and arrived at so much prosperity. This comes 
from your having been taught the word of God. 

And now turn over the bloody record of man's doings. Reck- 
less of their own happiness, and in defiance of the word of God, what 
has become of them ? Nation after nation has become mistress of 
the world ; nation after nation has usurped the sovereignty of the 
sea ; and now you can hardly discover where their gorgeous palaces 
and their imperial thrones were once erected. 

"What think you, then, in view of these things ? Think you this 
island was brought out of the vasty deep to afford a field for the re- 
ception of such dark doings ? There has been kindled here on these 
islands a flame which flourishes and increases, and joins with that 
other light which our noble missionaries have erected on the coast 
of Africa, — a beacon by which those who will may guide their course 
to heaven. 

And thus it is that you have the responsibility placed upon you 
by God to guard this priceless treasure. But when he gives you the 
Bible, he dues not give it you to keep, but to read ; on the contrary, 
he will hold you answerable for a proper use of it. Give me this 
Bible, and I defy the world in arms. When I rely on it, I appeal 
not to the power of man, but to the Lord of hosts. 

I have said that the decay and fall of other nations is attri- 
butable to their disregard of the principles of this holy book. But 
let me revert for a single moment to one example in the very ocean 
upon which this island reposes itself. I speak of the Spaniards and 
Spain. She who in ancient times carried her portly bearing and 
her chivalry so high, — she who had all nature to cheer her and all 
art and science to instruct her, — where is she now ? The short- 
sighted politician would tell us she wants resources, physical as well 
as mental ; but can we of the present age be satisfied with such an 
explanation? It is because the word of God's justice has gone 
forth. The curse of successful avarice and unbending brutality and 
unsparing tyranny is upon her. She made for herself a golden 
calf, and fell down and worshipped it ; and now the blood of thou- 



REPORT OF THE ADDRESS. 107 

sands and tens of thousands of unfortunate victims is smoking to 
heaven for vengeance ; and when God in his mercy shall see fit to 
remove the curse, and not till then, will that unfortunate country 
revive again. 

From the Bible are to be taken lessons not only for nations to 
use as charts and principles, but for individuals also. It points the 
way to happiness in this world and in the next. All philosophers, 
ancient and modei'n, from the remotest times down to our own 
Franklin, have held happiness to be the great object of every man ; 
but so dark have been men's hearts, that the happiness of many has 
been sought in the destruction of the happiness of others. Envy 
and malice, contention and strife, war and misery, have been fos- 
tered for the gratification of men's pleasures. The dirk of the 
assassin has been plunged into the heart of many a victim to pro- 
cure the happiness of men. A man is ruined and his family beg- 
gared for the happiness of others. How can it be that in seeking 
happiness — the great object of all our lives — man involves so many 
fellow-men in misery ? It is because man disregards the whisper- 
ing of God in his ear, which tells him to consider what happiness 
consists in. 

Let any man or woman who has arrived at the age of maturity 
ask himself or herself whether, in the pursuit of happiness, that per- 
son has not, as far as appears, gone directly in the wrong road. 

Man is a much better animal, in my judgment, than is generally 
supposed. From the time of his first rebellion against God, man 
has been a sinful creature, and unable to be saved but by the blood 
of our Saviour ; and yet I believe that, when uncontaminated, he is 
much better than most persons believe. My own experience of 
mankind has been considerable, and I will venture to say there is 
not one man in this assembly, no matter what his feelings of bitter- 
ness may be against his neighbour, or what he says of his friend 
behind his back, or what language he uses, but would rather be- 
friend a man and do him rood than do him harm. 

Let me request of you to examine yourselves upon a question, — 
and I do not believe there is one individual here but will answer in 
the affirmative : — that is, whether in your intercourse with others it 
does not afford you ten thousand times more pleasure to do a good 
action than it does to do an evil one ? Man's kindness to his fel- 
low-man will become the rule when this Bible succeeds in regulating 
the will and passions of mankind. 

All the troubles between man and man, and all the troubles that 
have arisen in the Christian community, arise in the first place from 



108 REPQJ^ OF THE ADDRESS. 

a disregard of its sacred precepts. Men are very apt also to excuse 
themselves by referring to the conduct of others, and to comfort 
themselves by asserting that what others are doing must be right, 
and they are only doing the same as others. It is very easy, as 
the English proverb says, for the monkey to use the cat's paws to 
get the chestnut out of the fire. 

I have seen violent men, I have seen men supposed capable of 
swallowing fire, I have seen men put into heated ovens ; but I have 
never yet seen that man who, if his mind were properly directed, 
would not rather do a kindness than an injury. 

The best man, and the most charitable, and the most generous, is, 
I will venture to say, the happiest man. What is it that consti- 
tutes human happiness, except it be the exercise of benevolence and 
charity? The reciprocation of good-will between man and man 
during their short journey to the grave makes up the sum of happi- 
ness. I speak as an individual having had some experience. 

We see men living in magnificence, surrounded with wealth, and 
commanding all that can administer to their happiness, and yet they 
are not so happy as the humblest peasant, who, as he sees a stranger 
in want passing by his door, gives him assistance out of his too 
scanty means. Such a one feels happiness indeed. Learned men, 
and we who pride ourselves upon Christianity, are very angry if 
told that intellectual enjoyments are not superior to enjoyments of 
an animal kind ; but how many of the learned are there who learn 
just enough to wish to know more, and who find that learning by 
itself too often produces nothing but discontent in the human 
mind ? 

One word more. My belief is that the most benevolent man is 
the happiest. Were I to look abroad in the world for an example 
of happiness, I would search for the most benevolent man. The 
man that can forgive his enemy, that can conquer the proud feel- 
ings of the human heart, that can return good for evil, that is the 
man I envy. 

The man who can go in search of the distressed, of the widow 
and her desolate children, and, having found them, can relieve them, 
that is a happy man. He who can go into prison, like Howard, 
the English philanthropist, and relieve the wants and miseries of 
the most abject and sinful of his race, must indeed be happy. Oh, 
compare happiness such as his with that derived from power ! 
Where is there one man in the civilized and Christian world that 
would not rather wear the humble garment of Howard's happiness 
than the purple of imperial Rome ? 



REPORT OF THE ADDRESS. 109 

Now, I say that the only hope of happiness, not only for this but 
for all countries, is that they shall avoid the rock upon which older 
nations have split. 

If I could envy any one, I could envy this gentleman standing 
by me (the Rev. R. Armstrong) and all his fellow-labourers in the 
good work. For my own part, I may never see you more, for I am 
going to return to the far, far distant land from whence I came. 
My poor name may perish and be lost, but this book (holding up the 
Bible) will ever remain ; and do you remember, as the Almighty 
destroyed one generation for its perverseness, he may destroy 
another ; therefore, hold fast to this book as the foundation of your 
prosperity. 

In bidding you farewell, I beg of you to search for that which is 
good, that you may be prosperous, and never to forget the responsi- 
bility imposed upon you. In your islands I have beheld the most 
interesting scene that my eyes have witnessed : it is not merely 
that you are Christianized, but that in that fact I see the spread of 
that gospel which shall one day be known wherever the sun rise? 
on this globe. 

Once more I tell you that the prosperity of your country and the 
happiness of every individual in it depends upon your endeavouring 
to live at peace with God and in good-will towards man. 

[The Commodore's remarks were interpreted by the Rev. Mr. 
Armstrong as he spoke. The natives listened with attention, and 
it is believed they made a deep impression upon them.J 



110 PROCEEIIINGS IN CALIFORNIA 



Emil 



CHAPTER IX. 

PROCEEDINGS OF COMMODORE 8L0AT IN CALIFORNIA STATE OF THE COUNTRY — VIEWS 

OF COMMODORE STOCKTON lUS DECIDED MEASURES ORGANIZES THE CALIFORNIA 

BATTALION APPOINTS COLONEL FREMONT TO COMMAND OF IT DESPATCHES HIM TO 

THE SOUTH SAILS FOR SAN PEDRO — DISCIPLINES THE SAILORS FOR SHORE-SEE- 
VICE GENERAL CASTRO CALIFORNIAN FORCES COMMODORE STOCKTON'S TREAT- 
MENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS FROM THE ENEMY MARCH TO CIUDAD DE LOS ANGE- 
LES ALARM OF THE ENEMY CASTRO FLIES SURRENDER OF HIS CHIEF FOLLOWERS 

COMMODORE STOCKTON ORGANIZES THE TERRITORY INTO MILITARY DEPARTMENTS 

ORGANIZES THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT — GENERAL SUBMISSION OF INHABITANTS 

TRANQUILLITY OF THE COUNTRY COMMODORE STOCKTON PROCEEDS NORTH — FORMS 

A DESIGN OF RAISING A FORCE TO MARCH OVERLAND TO MEXICO CITY — LETTERS TO 
CAPTAIN MERVINE AND COLONEL FREMONT. 

Upon his arrival at Monterey, Captain Stockton reported to 
Commodore Sloat, his senior oflScer, then in command of the Pacific 
squadron, consisting of the frigate Savannah, sloops-of-war Ports- 
mouth, Cyane, and Warren, and store-ship Erie, to which was now 
added the frigate Congress. A few days previous to the arrival of 
the Congress, Commodore Sloat had received intelligence of the 
commencement of hostilities on the Rio Grande between Mexico 
and the United States, and he had landed with a part of his crew, 
and raised, without resistancCj the flag of the United States at 
Monterey. Under his directions it had also been raised at two 
other points. It was not, however, within the scope of his plan of 
operations to conduct any further military operations on shore. 
The Commodore was an old-fashioned sailor, who was content with 
the performance of* his duty on his own element, and he declined 
taking the responsibility of directing a campaign on the land. He 
was not disposed to convert his sailors and marines into land-forces. 
No such programme was expressed in any orders then received. 
He was satisfied with the elevation of the American flag and the 
issue of his proclamation declaring that he had taken formal posses- 
sion of California in the name of the United States. He declined, 
therefore, receiving the proff'ered services of Colonel Fremont and 
his men. He doubtless felt embarrassed in his position, particu- 
larly after Captain Stockton expressed to him very freely his opinion 
that active offensive measures were absolutely indispensable to keep 



CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. Ill 

the flag of the United States flying in California; that the Cali- 
fornians it could not be expected would yield the country without 
resistance; and that, as soon as time should be afforded them to 
collect an adequate force, the American flag, unless defended by 
the most decided movements, would be expelled. Commodore Sloat 
was a patriotic, gallant officer; and, though he did not perceive how 
it was possible for the sailors and the marines of the American 
squadron to carry on successfully a war of conquest on land, he was 
unwilling to be an obstacle in the way of others who chose to take 
the responsibility of such a novel procedure. He accordingly in- 
formed Captain Stockton that, as his health was not good, and as 
his instructions authorized him to return to the United States after 
being relieved, he would relinquish to him the command. On the 
23d of July, therefore, Commodore Sloat carried into eff"ect these 
intentions, and sailed for the United States, leaving Commodore 
Stockton in command of the squadron. 

Before proceeding to narrate the operations of Commodore Stock- 
ton in California, a few remarks may properly be here made respect- 
ing the condition of that country, and the state of public aff"air9 
therein at that time. 

California had been neglected by Spain, the mother country, be- 
fore the Mexican War of Independence. Her inhabitants were left 
pretty much to themselves and their priests. It is said that the 
priests, who were aware of the existence of gold in California, con- 
cealed its discovery, and in various ways discouraged colonization, 
lest a knowledge of the abundance of the precious metals might lead 
to a large emigration, which would interfere with their ascemdency 
in California. The population of California was scattered over an 
immense surface along the Pacific coast, and engaged principally in 
agricultural pursuits; but, owing to the proximity of several power- 
ful and warlike nations of Indians, who made frequent hostile in- 
roads, the Californians were not unused to arms. They were expert 
horsemen, and all their Indian wars were waged with cavalry. 
The hunting and capture of wild horses and cattle was a favourite 
amusement with them, and the practice of this sport made them 
bold and skilful in the saddle. At full gallop they would throw the 
lasso or hurl the lance with unerring certainty and precision. 

California, at this time, had all her military capacities been put 
in requisition, could bring into the field at least two thousand 
mounted men, constituting as fine a cavalry force as any country 
could produce. A more hardy and vigorous race than the Mexi- 
cans of the eastern states, the Californians were capable of great 



112 INDErENDENCE DECLARED. 

endurance; and, under bold and intelligent leaders, would have 
proved formidable enemies to any invader. 

In the fall and winter of 1845-6 a considerable emigration from 
the western frontier of the United States had marched for Cali- 
fornia and Oregon. As the emigrants arrived in California, allured 
by the beauty and fertility of the country, they commenced forming 
settlements along the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, in con- 
formity with the original invitation which they had received from 
the authorities. 

In January, 1846, Colonel Fremont, of the Topographical Corps, 
also arrived, on an exploring expedition. The Californian com- 
mandant of Monterey, General Castro, at first received Fremont in 
a friendly and hospitable manner ; but, whether prompted by advices 
from the city of Mexico of the probabilitty of a war, or alarmed at 
the numbers and bold, independent character of the emigrants, or 
suspecting the enterprising Anglo-Saxons of some latent ambitious 
designs, he suddenly changed his deportment towards both Fre- 
mont and the emigrants, and manifested a determination to arrest 
the progress of Fremont and disturb the settlements of the Amer: 
cans. Several outrages were perpetrated on the latter, and a con- 
siderable military force called out to arrest the former. The Ame- 
rican emigrants at once united for mutual defence, and called a 
convention to determine on the best means for protection. The 
convention assembled at Sonoma, of which they took military pos- 
session, and selected for their leader a gentleman of the name of 
William B. Ide. Colonel Ide, on the 18th of June, 1846, issued 
his proclamation, denouncing the treachery of the Californians, 
reciting the oppression and misgovernment of the province, and 
inviting the people to unite in an effort to secure their inde- 
pendence. On the 4th of July the Americans assembled at So- 
noma, declared their independence, and hoisted what was called the 
Bear flag, and elected Colonel Fremont governor. Colonel Fre- 
mont, not altogether satisfied with the propriety of proceeding with- 
out the co-operation of the American squadron, then at Monterey, 
repaired to that place to confer with Commodore Sloat. Though 
Commodore Sloat declined to co-operate with him, he was informed 
by Commodore Stockton, soon after his arrival, that he would accept 
the offer of his services as soon as Commodore Sloat had relinquished 
the command of the squadron. 

Immediately after that event. Commodore Stockton communicated 
his views fully to Colonel Fremont. lie informed him that he 
should take the chief direction of affairs into his own hands, and 



VIEWS OF COMMODORE STOCKTON. 113 

at once commence active operations to reduce the whole of Cali- 
fornia to a state of complete submission to the authority of the 
United States. He agreed that such men as Colonel Fremont could 
enlist should be organized into a battalion, and that he would 
commission Fremont as major and Captain Gillespie as the captain 
of it. Fremont was instructed to invite the co-operation of the 
American emigrants who had hoisted the Bear flag. These hardy 
and adventurous men, true Americans at heart, of course, with 
Colonel Fremont, preferred fighting under the flag of their own 
country; and they constituted the principal part of the volunteers 
who formed the California battalion. The proceedings at Sonoma 
on the 4th of July and the Bear flag were thus ignored^ all the 
parties thereto hastening to take service under Commodore Stock- 
ton. Fremont and Gillespie entered into a specific agreement with 
the Commodore that they would continue to act under him as com- 
missioned while he should require their services. lie considered 
and treated them as part of the naval forces under his command 
throughout the Californian war. 

The bold and decided views taken by Commodore Stockton, at 
this time, of his duty, and the course he pursued towards the enemy, 
have been entirely approved by the government and people of the 
United States, while the complete success which rewarded his 
operations vindicates the strategetical sagacity which they dis- 
played. But his was a novel and perplexing position, — more so than 
that in which any military commander of the United States had 
ever before been placed. He was entirely without instructions 
adapted to this exigency. He was compelled to rely on his own 
independent resources. The flag of his country had been raised in 
California, — a country in possession of a gallant and warlike people. 
These people had not been informed of the commencement of hos- 
tilities on the Rio Grande, when they were exasperated by a hand- 
ful of straggling strangers and squatters (as they considered" them) 
from the United States, invading their peaceful valleys, taking 
possession of fertile tracts of country, and immediately assuming a 
hostile position and declaring their independence. A proclamation 
had been issued by the military commandant of California, breath- 
ing vengeance against all foreigners, but designed to apply alto- 
gether to the American emigrants. The raising of the American 
flag at Monterey was believed to be a fillibuster proceeding, and 
only excited more vindictively the animosity of the Californian 
authorities. 

The Legislature of the State was in session, and grants of vast 



114 NECESSITY OF ^JOLD PLAN OF OPERATIONS. 

tracts of territory were about being made to British agents, which 
would have absorbed the most valuable portion of the public lands. 
These British agents, better informed than the Californians, foresaw 
that, if California should be acquired by the United States, all 
real estate would be enhanced in value. Those Californians who 
were under the influence of British agents were quite willing, if 
there were any probability of the transfer of the country to the 
United States, that it should be made as worthless to our govern- 
ment as possible. They were, therefore, well disposed to cede 
away every foot of land for which they could find a purchaser. 
Commodore Stockton was apprised of their designs, and he saw that 
prompt and energetic measures only could defeat them. 

Besides, the emigrants now coming into California, unless active 
steps were taken to engage all the military strength of the ambitious 
chieftains who controlled it, would be at their mercy. They would 
have been cut off in detail as they arrived, exhausted by the fatigues 
and privations of the overland journey. The only hope of their 
salvation, Stockton perceived, was in a campaign which would not 
allow the Californians time or opportunity for any hostile expedi- 
tion against the new-comers. 

The population of California, as we have before observed, was 
dispersed over a very extensive surface. From Suter's settlement, 
one hundred and thirty miles north of San Francisco, to San Diego, 
in the southern part of Upper California, it was near eight hundred 
miles. The most populous parts of this expanse of territory were 
in the vicinity of the pueblos or towns dotted at intervals along 
the coast or a few miles from it in the interior. The Commodore 
knew that it would require some time for the Californian leaders to 
draw together the whole strength of the country from these remote 
distances; and he perceived, with the intuition of a military eye, 
that by a rapid movement he might defeat and disperse the enemy 
before* they could collect such a superior force as would render any 
attempt to encounter them impracticable. The success of such de- 
monstrations would infallibly determine many of the natives to 
remain at home and refrain from any participation in the conflict. 
It would certainly break up the session of the Legislature, frustrate 
the spoliation of the public property, and protect the in-coming 
emigration. 

Had Commodore Stockton failed to pursue this bold and enter- 
prising plan of military operations, it is hardly probable that Cali- 
fornia would have been reduced before negotiations for peace were 
commenced. The whole military strength of the country would have 



STOCKTON ASSUMES THE COMMAND-IN-CHIEF. 115 

"been embodied, and perhaps large bodies of Indians would also 
have been armed to resist the approach of General Kearney. Ar- 
riving in an exhausted condition, destitute of supplies, his fate and 
that of his army might have been still more disastrous than that 
which befell the small detachment with which he ultimately came. 

When we consider the extent of surface in California which was 
to be made the theatre of war, — the nature of the force opposed to 
Commodore Stockton, comprising an armed body of the finest 
cavalry in the world, well acquainted with the country and all its 
difficult passes, so capable of being defended by the few against the 
strong, — and when, also, we advert to the nature of his own force, 
comprising only between three and four hundred sailors and 
marines, imperfectly armed, unacquainted with the country, unused 
to service on shore, assisted by one hundred and fifty volunteers 
under i»remont, equally strangers to the country, — it must be 
admitted that it required great moral courage to assume the re- 
sponsibility of the enterprise which Commodore Stockton thought 
it his duty to undertake. He had no precedent in American history 
to guide him. He had no instructions which applied to the emer- 
gency. And we are informed that he held no council, with whose 
deliberations he might divide the responsibility of his decisions. His 
decisions were the result of his own reflections and his own patriotic 
sense of duty. Indeed, we have been informed that he has said, 
that from his departure from the United States, in the fall of 1845, 
to the close of his career in California, he never asked the advice 
of any one, or took any counsel in relation to any measure of im- 
portance. 

Few naval officers could have secured the same cheerful per- 
formance of extraordinary duties from sailors and marines as Stock- 
ton obtained, without efi'ort, from his men. The secret of his 
ascendency, however, over those commanded by him, is known to 
all who have served with or under him. 

While he treats all alike with that scrupulous courtesy which 
cherishes self-respect and flatters personal importance, yet he con- 
stantly exacts the most implicit obedience ; and his men always 
know that he will permit none of them to encounter any danger 
which their commander is not willing to be the foremost in sharing. 
Indeed, while prodigal of his own exposure, he is careful to allow 
his men to subject themselves to no risks which are not indispen- 
sably necessary. 

Having determined upon the most decisive measures. Commodore 
Stockton, assuming the command-in-chief, civil and military, issued 



116 PLACES THE C^^TRY UNDER MARTIAL LAW. 

his proclamation placing the country under martial law. The pro- 
clamation was well conceived for the purpose of exciting the appre- 
hensions of those who were disposed to resist, and of soothing and 
allaying the fears of those who were willing to remain at home 
peaceful and neutral. The civil jurisdiction of the magistrates and 
legal tribunals was not to be disturbed while held in subordination 
to the authority of the commander-in-chief. But the most vigorous 
treatment was threatened against all hostile parties. 

This proclamation bears date the 23d of July, 1846, — the same 
day on which Commodore Sloat relinquished and Commodore Stock- 
ton assumed command of the squadron, and is as follows : — 

PROCLAMATION. 

Californians : — The Mexican goverment and their military 
oflBcers have, without cause, for a year past, been threatening the 
United States with hostilities. 

They have recently, in pursuance of these threats, commenced 
hostilities by attacking, with 7000 men, a small detachment of 2000 
United States troops, by whom they were signally defeated and 
routed. 

General Castro, the commander-in-chief of the military forces of 
California, has violated every principle of international law and 
national hospitality, by hunting and pursuing with several hundred 
soldiers, and with Avicked intent. Captain Fremont, of the United 
States army, who came here to refresh his men, (about forty in 
number,) after a perilous journey across the mountains on a scien- 
tific survey. 

For these repeated hostilities and outrages, military possession 
"was ordered to be taken of Monterey and San Francisco until re- 
dress could be obtained from the government of Mexico. 

No let or hinderance was given or intended to be given to the 
civil authority of the territory, or to the exercise of its accustomed 
functions. The officers were invited to remain, and promised protec- 
tion in the performance of their duties as magistrates. They refused 
to do so, and departed, leaving the people in a state of anarchy and 
confusion. 

On assuming the command of the forces of the United States on 
the coast of California, both by sea and land, I find myself in pos- 
session of the ports of Monterey and San Francisco, with daily re- 
ports from the interior of scenes of rapine, blood, and murder. 
Three iuoflfensive American residents of the country have, within a 



HIS PROCLAMATION. 117 

few days, been murdered in the most brutal manner ; and there are 
no Californian officers who will arrest and bring the murderers to 
justice, although it is well known who they are and where they 
are. 

I must, therefore, and will, as soon as I can, adopt such measures 
as may seem best calculated to bring these criminals to justice, and 
to bestow peace and good order on the country. 

In the first place, however, I am constrained by every principle 
of national honour, as well as a due regard for the safety and best 
interests of the people of California, to put an end at once, and by 
force, to the lawless depredations daily committed by General Cas- 
tro's men upon the persons and property of peaceful and unoffending 
inhabitants. 

I cannot, therefore, confine my operations to the quiet and undis- 
turbed possession of the defenceless ports of Monterey and San 
Francisco, while the people elsewhere are suffering from law- 
less violence, but will immediately march against these boasting 
and abusive chiefs, who have not only violated every principle of 
national hospitality and good faith towards Captain Fremont and 
his surveying party, but who, unless driven out, will, with the aid 
of the hostile Indians, keep this beautiful country in a constant state 
of revolution and blood, as well as against all others who may be 
found in arms, or aiding or abetting General Castro. 

The present general of the forces of California is a usurper, has 
been guilty of great offences, has impoverished and drained the 
country of almost its last dollar, and has deserted his post now when 
most needed. 

He has deluded and deceived the inhabitants of California, and 
they wish his expulsion from the country. He came into power by 
rebellion and force, and by force he must be expelled. Mexico ap- 
pears to have been compelled, from time to time, to abandon Cali- 
fornia to the mercies of any wicked man who could muster one 
hundred men-in-arms. The distances from the capital are so great 
that she cannot, even in times of great distress, send timely aid to 
the inhabitants; and the lawless depredations upon their persons 
and property go invariably unpunished. She cannot or will not 
punish or control the chieftains who, one after the other, have defied 
her power and kept California in a constant state of revolt and misery. 

The inhabitants are tired and disgusted with this constant suc- 
cession of military usurpers and this insecurity of life and property. 
Therefore, upon them I will not make war. I require, however, all 
officers, civil and military, and all other persons, to remain quiet at 



118 SENDS CALIFORjp^ BATTALION TO SAN DIEGO. 

their respective homes and stations, and to obey the orders they may 
receive from mc, and by my authority; and, if they do no injury or 
violence to my authority, none will be done to them. 

But notice is hereby given, that if any of the inhabitants of the 
country cither abandon their dwellings or do any injury to the arms 
of the United States, or to any person within this territory, they 
will be treated as enemies and suffer accordingly. 

No person whatever is to be troubled in consequence of any part 
he may heretofore have taken in the politics of the country, or for 
having been a subject of General Castro. And all persons who may 
have belonged to the government of Mexico, but who, from this day, 
acknowledge the authority of the existing laws, are to be treated in 
the same manner as other citizens of the United States, provided 
they are obedient to the law and to the orders they shall receive 
from me or by my authority. 

The commander-in-chief does not desire to possess himself of one 
foot of California for any other reason than as the only means to 
save from destruction the lives and property of the foreign residents 
and the citizens of the territory, who have invoked his protection. 

As soon, therefore, as the officers of the civil law return to their 
proper duties, under a regularly-organized government, and give 
security for life, liberty, and property, alike to all, the forces under 
my command will be withdrawn, and the people left to manage their 
own affairs in their own way. 

R. F. Stockton, 
Commander-in-chief, ^^e. ^c. ^c. 

It was ascertained at this time that the Californians had col- 
lected an army of between one thousand and fifteen hundred men 
at Ciudad de los Angeles, the seat of government of the State. 
There the Commodore determined to go at once and commence 
offensive operations, notwithstanding the disparity of his forces. He 
hoped to attack and defeat the enemy before he could obtain any 
certain intelligence of the numbers of the Americans. 

In twenty-four hours after assuming the command, the Commo- 
dore organized and accepted the services of the California battalion, 
one hundred and sixty in number, and despatched them on the 
sloop-of-war Cyane to San Diego, with directions to Major Fre- 
mont, after securing a supply of horses and cattle in that neighbour- 
hood, to co-operate with the proposed attack on Ciudad de los 
Angeles. Delos Angeles is four hundred miles south of Mon- 
terey, and San Diego one hundred and fifty miles farther. 



PROCEEDS TO SAN PEDRO. 119 

On the 1st of August, Commodore Stockton sailed with the Con- 
gress to Santa Barbara, whence, after leaving a garrison, he pro- 
ceeded to San Pedro, on the coast, about thirty miles distant from 
Ciudad de los Angeles. He landed at once with about three hun- 
dred and fifty sailors and marines, (as many as could be spared 
from the ship,) established them in camp, and commenced drilling 
them for the service contemplated. 

To create an army out of sailors for land-service was a novel 
experiment. It could have succeeded only with a commander 
who possessed the confidence and affections of his men, and who 
could infuse into them the same heroic spirit by which he was 
himself animated. It was in vain to attempt to subject the sailors 
to the ordinary drill of soldiers, or to expect from them the sort 
of discipline which is required in the army. No such attempt 
was made. They were simply directed to obey a few words of 
command, such as "halt," "march," "form line," "form square," 
"charge," — and always to keep the same comrade on the left 
or right. In executing the necessary evolutions in which they 
were exercised, though all at first appeared confusion, yet every 
man soon rapidly took his proper place, and the most perfect 
order was immediately obtained. With that versatility for which 
Americans are remarkable, the sailors adapted themselves with 
the utmost alacrity and cheerfulness to their new vocation, and 
exhibited entire docility in the performance of their extraordinary 
duties. They saw their Commodore sharing with them all their 
hardships, partaking their rations and their toils, marching side by 
side with them — always going ahead in time of danger, — and they 
caught with inspiration the ardour which excited him. No insub- 
ordination or discontent were exhibited by any of them ; but each 
one vied with the other in the patriotic performance of duty. There 
were only about ninety muskets in the whole corps. Some were 
armed with carbines, others had only pistols, swords, or boarding- 
pikes. They presented a motley and peculiar appearance, with 
great variety of costume ; and, perhaps, no other army similarly 
armed and equipped was ever before marshalled for field operations 
either in savage or civilized warfare. Owing to the protracted 
extension of their absence from home, the supplies of shoes and 
clothing had fallen short; and the ragged and diversified colours of 
their garments, as well as the want of uniformity in their arms and 
accoutrements, made them altogether a spectacle both singular and 
amusing. 

While engaged in exercising his men, and rendering them expert, 



120 TREATMENT O^JALIFORNIAN MESSENGERS. 

or at least familiar with the manoeuvres necessary to enable them 
to move with facility and in order, messengers with a flag of truce 
appeared on one of the distant hills in the direction of De los 
Angeles. As soon as the Commodore was informed of their ap- 
proach, he believed that the}'^ had come for the purpose of observa- 
tion as much as for any thing else, and he determined that the 
knowledge they derived from their visit should contribute to his 
own benefit. Accordingly, he resolved on such a display as would 
deceive the enemy with respect to his numbers, and compel the 
bearers of the flag of truce to return with very exaggerated ideas 
of the formidable army which they were soon to encounter. lie 
ordered all his men under arms, and directed them to march, three 
or four abreast, with intervals of considerable space between each 
squad of three or four, directly in the line of vision of the approach- 
ing messengers, to the rear of some buildings on the beach, and 
thence to return in a circle and continue their march until the 
strangers had arrived. Part of the circle described in the march 
was concealed from view, so that to the strangers it would appear 
that a force ten times greater than the actual number of it was 
defiling before them. 

When the bearers of the flag of truce had arrived, he ordered 
them led up to him alongside of the artillery, which consisted of 
several six-pounders and one thirty-two-pound carronade. The 
guns were all covered with skins in such a manner as to conceal 
their dimensions, excepting the huge mouth of the thirty-two- 
pounder at which the Commodore was posted to receive his guests. 
He supposed that, in all probability, neither of them had ever 
before seen such an instrument of war, and that the large and 
gaping aperture of the gun, into the very mouth of which they were 
compelled to look, would be very likely to disturb their nerves. 

As his purpose was that of intimidation, he received them with 
sternness, calculated to co-operate with the impression to be pro- 
duced by the artillery. They proved to be bearers of despatches 
from General Castro. He warned the Commodore to desist from 
his contemplated expedition, and proposed a truce, by the terms of 
which each party should maintain its present position, unmolested 
by the other, until intelligence of a more definite character could be 
obtained from Mexico and the United States, or until the conclu- 
sion of peace. Delay, however, was just exactly the opportunity 
which the Commodore had not the remotest idea of aft'ordins: the 
enemy. He knew that, as soon as the Californian generals should 
discover his comparative weakness, they would not be likely to 



SUCCEEDS IN DECEIVING GENERAL CASTRO. 121 

observe any truce. The authority of one General to conclude a 
truce might be disavowed by another. The advantages of a truce 
would be entirely with the enemy. It would enable them to ascer- 
tain their own superiority of numbers, which it only required time 
to concentrate, when they would inevitably become invincible by 
any available force within the Commodore's control. 

He directed the Californians to return to their master and inform 
him that the American commander intended to march immediately 
on Ciudad de los Angeles ; that General Castro should prepare to 
surrender his arms, disperse his forces, and require his men to re- 
turn to their homes and demean themselves peaceably, under 
penalty of being dealt with in the most rigorous manner. He 
ordered them to tell Castro that he would not negotiate with him on 
any other terms than those of absolute submission to the authority of 
the United States. Having, through an interpreter, delivered this 
message in the most fierce and oifensive manner and in a tone of 
voice significant of the most implacable and hostile determination, 
he waved them from his presence imperiously with the insulting 
imperative, ^i' Vamose." The Californians made haste to escape 
from the presence of an enemy apparently so ferocious and formid- 
able, and their ominous retiring glances at the terrific gun showed 
but too plainly that the work of intimidation was effectual. 

The Commodore, after they were beyond hearing, expressed the 
opinion to his officers that these messengers would carry to Castro's 
camp such an account of their observations as would supersede the 
necessity of any very desperate battle. 

Two days afterwards, another embassy from Castro arrived. This 
renewed attempt to negotiate satisfied the Commodore that his 
treatment of the first messengers had operated well, and he repeated 
his experiment of intimidation, by refusing again in the most insult- 
ing manner any overtures for a suspension of hostilities. The offer 
to treat at this time was accompanied with sonorous and boastful 
threats and bombastic defiance. Castro in a letter informed the 
Commodore of his certain defeat in case he advanced, and that the 
Californians were determined, to the last man, to perish in defence 
of their country. The bearer of this last despatch was received 
and treated with the same uncompromising severity as the first. 

The Commodore undoubtedly succeeded in deceiving Castro 
respecting the numbers and strength of his little army. Otherwise, 
the Californian general never would have suffered him to penetrate to 
De los Angeles without more than one effort to impede his 
progress. 



1-2 MARCHES ON CIUDAD DE LOS ANGELES. 

The forces of Castro were treble that of the invaders. He had 
a fine park of artillei-j, his men were well mounted and equipped. 
There were several narrow defiles between San Pedro and Los 
Angeles, where a few determined men might have maintained their 
ground against ten times their own numbers. Under a brave and 
skilful leader, the troops in command of Castro were sufficiently 
numerous to have driven the sailors to their ships, or to have 
slaughtered or captured every man of them. But, ignorant of the 
Commodore's strength, and impressed with the belief that it was far 
greater than his own, Castro failed to take advantage of the most 
favourable passes in which to meet his enemy, and, anxious to 
keep a position where access to the open plains would afford him 
the facilities for escape, he intrenched himself in the vicinity of 
Ciudad de los Angeles, and apparently prepared to fight a pitched 
battle on the plain. 

Having made all suitable arrangements, Commodore Stockton, 
after waiting to hear from Major Fremont as long as he thought it 
prudent, determined to proceed without him. He, however, de- 
spatched a courier to inform the Major of his advance, and on 
the eleventh of August commenced his march on Ciudad de los 
Angeles. 

The only provisions of the little army were cattle and sheep, 
which were enclosed in a hollow square, and thus protected both 
from the marauding attacks of the enemy and from escape. The 
enemy were often in sight, threatening their flanks or advance- 
guard, and hovering on the brows of the adjacent hills. The artillery 
and ammunition-carts were dragged along by the sailors over hills 
and through tedious valleys of sand, but without complaint or 
reluctance. 

On the twelfth, as they approached within a few miles of Castro's 
position, another courier from him presented himself. He was 
commissioned to deliver a pompous message, informing the Commo- 
dore " that if he marched upon the town he would find it the grave 
of his men." '<Then," said he, "tell your general to have the 
bells ready to toll in the morning at eight o'clock, as I shall be 
there at that time."* 

He was there at that time ; but the Californian general of couriers 
and despatches was unwilling to risk a battle. Both he and his 
troops were evidently panic-stricken. Their fears had been 
excited by the bold and confident deportment of their adversary, 

* Col ton's Three Years in California. 



FLIGHT OF GENEKAL CASTRO. 123 

and they shrunk from conflict with a foe apparently so desperate 
and daring, who would neither parley nor negotiate, and whose de- 
mands were as arrogant as they were uncompromising. 

Castro did not wait to receive a charge, but, without firing a gun, 
and before the Commodore was visible to him, broke up his camp, 
ordered the bulk of his army to disperse, and, with a small detach- 
ment of followers, mounted on their swiftest coursers, fled in the 
direction of Sonora. 

His artillery fell into the hands of the Americans. His principal 
officers and a portion of his troops surrendered prisoners of war. 
On the following day, Don Andreas Pico, former governor, and 
General Jose Maria Flores, also surrendered, and were set at 
liberty on their parole of honour not to serve against the United 
States during the war. 

Ciudad de los Angeles capitulated without any specification of 
terms, and, on the 13th of August, Commodore Stockton took 
possession of the capital of California. 

The eff'ect of this successful expedition, though achieved without 
bloodshed, was equivalent to the most triumphant victory. As a 
skilful chess-player, who checkmates his opponent without the loss 
of a man on either side, so the Commodore, by the sagacity and 
boldness of his demonstrations, gained every thing which could 
have been obtained by a well-fought and bloody battle. 

The flight of Castro, the dispersion of his troops, the capture of 
Ciudad de los Angeles, the dissolution of the Legislature, and, 
indeed, of the goveinment, by the surrender of Pico and Flores, 
and the general submission of all other functionaries, apparently 
terminated all contest in California. 

Those disposed to fight were without leaders in whom confidence 
could be placed. The spirit of resistance was humbled and sub- 
dued. The whole population were impressed with exaggerated 
opinions of the powers and desperation of the foe. There was no 
general to whose standard they could rally. All the principal sea- 
ports were in the possession of the Americans. The country was, 
in fact, conquered, and it only remained for the conqueror to 
establish laws for its civil government in order to complete the 
work of subjugation. This he proceeded to do without delay. 

The territory was divided, for its military government, into three 
departments, in eath of which a military commandant was appointed. 
Colonel Fremont, who had arrived after the flight of Castro, was 
appointed military commandant for the whole territory, with a 
general superintendence over all the departments. 



124 STOCKTON PROCEEDS NORTH. 

Commodore Stockton was averse to the continuance of martial 
law after the general submission of the inhabitants. But, as many 
of the civil officers of the recent government were unwilling to act 
under the new order of affairs, the Commodore ordered an election 
to supply their places. The election was held on the 15th of Sep- 
tember, and the officers elected were duly commissioned by the 
Commodore, and entered upon the discharge of their duties. The 
Commodore likewise prescribed an ad-valorera tariff upon all duties 
on imports, and appointed appraisers, collectors, and other port- 
officers, for the collection of the revenue. Thus, in little more than 
a month after Commodore Stockton landed at San Pedro, the new 
government, civil and military, was organized and put in operation, 
with every indication that the people of California would acquiesce 
in submission to it without further resistance. 

Commodore Stockton, immediately after these events, despatched 
a courier (the celebrated Kit Carson) to Washington, with full in- 
telligence of his proceedings.* He likewise informed the govern- 
ment that, upon returning to his ship and relinquishing the com- 
mand-in-chicf in California, he should appoint Colonel Fremont 
governor. 

The Commodore, while engaged in overrunning and subduing 
California and performing the duties of a General of land-forces, 
had not nejjlected the conduct of hostilities on the ocean and along 
the coast. The Cyane, under Commander Dupont, and the War- 
ren, under Commander Hull, were ordered to cruise on the Pacific 
coast, from Mazatlan to the mouth of the Columbia. Thirteen 
prizes were captured by them ; among others, the Malek Adel, of 
some celebrity. Indeed, they so effectually scoured the coast as to 
clear it of every hostile vessel. 

After making all necessary territorial dispositions, leaving gar- 
risons at San Diego, De los Angeles, San Pedro, and Santa Barbara, 
and appointing Major Gillespie commandant of the southern mili- 
tary department, the Commodore proceeded north to examine into 
the state of affairs in that direction. A reported incursion of the 
Indians brought him to San Francisco. There he learned that the 
report was unfounded, and, after a satisfactory interview with some 
of the Indian chiefs, he was assured that no danger was to be 
apprehended from them. He found the whole North as quiet and 
as submissive to his authority as the South when he left it. He was 
received at all the principal towns and settlements which he visited 

* See Appendix, OfiBcial Letter of September 15, 1846, to Secretary of Navy. 



TRANQUILLITY OF THE COUNTRY. 125 

with demonstrations of admiration and respect. His arrival at San 
Francisco was celebrated by a general turn-out of the inhabitants, 
the formal presentation of a congratulatory address, a procession, 
and other festivities, concluding with a grand banquet and a ball. 

The inhabitants in this part of the territory appeared to rejoice 
in the change of government, which relieved them from the exac- 
tions and oppression exercised by the tyrannical governors and 
petty military commandants who had so long tyrannized in Cali- 
fornia. Security of personal property was now perfect under the 
authority of the officers of the new government, and no outrage 
could be perpetrated with impunity. The most intelligent among 
them foresaw that the transfer of the country to the United States 
would result in greatly augmenting its prosperity, and none, except- 
ing a few lawless and reckless dependants of the deposed Mexican 
authorities, regretted the success of the American arms. 

These feelings of the people were distinctly manifested upon the 
report that a large Mexican force was collecting in Sonora for the 
invasion of California and the restoration of Mexican supremacy. 
They crowded around the Commodore and tendered their services 
as volunteers, and called upon him to protect them from the in- 
vaders. The restoration of Mexican ascendency they seemed to 
consider the worst calamity which could befall them. The report, 
however, proved to be unfounded, and the whole surface of the 
country appeared tranquillized and its subjugation complete. 

Commodore Stockton now, (the last of September, 1846,) be- 
lieving that no further active operations in California required his 
presence, conceived the design of prosecuting the war in Mexico. 
He proposed leaving the battalion of volunteers under Major Fre- 
mont and Captain Gillespie in charge of California, occupying the 
principal positions and towns ; and, with an additional force of a 
thousand men, to be raised from among the hardy adventurers and 
emigrants from the United States now pouring into California, he 
formed the plan of sailing for Acapulco, on the western coast of 
Mexico, from whence he designed to strike across the country, with 
the view of reinforcing and co-operating with General Taylor or 
General Scott, one of whom he supposed would about this time be 
on the way towards Mexico City. It certainly would have alarmed 
the Mexican government, while mustering all its strength to repel 
an invasion from the North and East, to have heard of the sudden 
advance of an American army from the West and South, — a direc- 
tion from which they would least expect an enemy. The concep- 



126 STOCKTON'S DM^TCH TO THE GOVERNMENT. 

tion of such an expedition indicates the bold and enterprising cha- 
racter of Stockton. Had it been put in execution, it would have 
produced an important diversion in favour of General Scott. This 
darinfj and adventurous scheme has never received that attention 
from the country which it has deserved. Nothing, however, pre- 
vented its being carried into effect but the unexpected insurrection 
in California. As part of the history of Commodore Stockton's 
campaigns in California, the evidence of the fact that he projected 
such an enterprise cannot fail to be considered interesting and 
important : — 

(From Senate Document No. 31, Thirtieth Congress, Second Session.) 

"United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Francisco, October 1, 1846. 

" Sir : — On my arrival here with the Congress and Savannah in 
pursuit of the Walla- Walla Indians, I was glad to find that their 
numbers had been greatly exaggerated and that they were friendly- 
disposed. 

"I have a message from the chief stating that he was friendly 
and would come down to see me. I will send the Savannah on her 
cruise to-morrow, and the Portsmouth in a few days, and will follow 
myself in the Congress as soon as I can, (if not sooner superseded 
by Commodore Biddle,) to carry out my views in regard to Mexico, 
with which I have not thought it necessary or expedient yet to ac- 
quaint the Department. 

" Our new government goes on well. I am arranging for a 
weekly mail from one end of the territory to the other : it will not, 
I think, cost over three or four thousand dollars per annum, which 
will be less expensive than the necessary expenses to keep one pro- 
perly informed in regard to every part of the territory. 

"If any chance is given, I have no doubt an effort will be made 
by the Mexicans to recover the territory. Troops are ready to come 
from Mexico ; but, if they are not seen on their way, I'll make them 
fight their first battle at Acapulco, or between that and the city of 
Mexico. 

<'I have not, it is true, a great force ; but their enthusiasm and 
impetuosity must make up the want of numbers. 

"Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

" R. F. Stockton, Commodore, ^c. 
" To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

^<' Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.Q." 



COMMUNICATIONS WITH MERVINE AND FREMONT. 127 

(Confidential.) 

"United States Frigate Congress, 
Bat of Monterey, September 19, 1846. 
"Dear Sir: — I have sent Major Fremont to the North to see 
how many men he could recruit, with a view to embark them for 
Mazatlan or Acapulco, where, if possible, I intend to land and fight 
our way as far on to the city of Mexico as I can. 

"With this object in view, your orders of this date, in relation to 
having the squadron in such places as may enable me to get them 
together as soon as possible, are given. 

"You will, on your arrival on the coast, get all the information 
you can in reference to this matter. I would that we might shake 
hands with General Taylor at the gates of Mexico. 

"Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

" R. F. Stockton, Qommodorey ^c. 
"To Captain William Mervine, 

i^United States Frigate Savannah." 

(Private.) 

"United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Francisco, September 28, 1846. 
« Sir : — I am here, anxious to know what prospect there is of your 
being able to recruit my thousand men for a visit to Mexico. 

"Let me know as soon as possible. Many serious arrangements 
will have to be made, all requiring more or less time, which, you 
know, in war is more precious than ' rubies.' 

"Your faithful friend and obedient servant, 
"R. F. Stockton, Governor^ ^c, 
"To Major Fremont, Military Cofnrnandant 
of the Territory of California." 



128 INSURRECTION AT THE SOUTH. 



CHAPTER X. 

INSUEKECTION AT THE SOTTTH — MOVEMENTS OF COMMODORE STOCKTON — FREMONT 

ORDERED TO SAN DIEGO STOCKTON SAILS FOR SAN PEDRO — REPULSE OF CAPTAIN 

MERVINE — LANDING OF FORCES AT SAN PEDRO STOCKTON PROCEEDS TO SAN DIEOO 

PREPARATIONS fOR MARCH ON CItJDAD DE LOS ANGELES DEFEAT OF GENERAL 

KEARNEY AT SAN PASQUAL BELIEVED BY STOCKTON AND ESCORTED TO SAN DIEGO 

HIS INSTRUCTIONS CLAIMS THE CIVIL GOVERNORSHIP REFUSES THE MILITARY 

COMMAND-IN-CHIEF VOLUNTEERS AS AID OF STOCKTON EXTRAORDINARY LETTER 

OF KEARNEY — STOCKTON'S REPLY KEARNEY TAKES THE PLACE OF LIEUTENANT 

ROWAN ORDER OF MARCH. 

"While Commodore Stockton was preparing for a campaign in 
Mexico, in co-operation with the army of General Scott, he received 
intelligence which confined his attention to California. No sooner 
was it known to Pico and Flores that the Commodore had gone 
north, than those treacherous enemies of the United States, regard- 
less of their parole of honour not to serve again during the war, 
secretly collected together the remnants of their former army, and 
resolved upon another effort to expel the Americans. They were, 
doubtless, indignant and ashamed that they had suffered themselves 
to be discomfited by a force so inferior to their own. Now that 
they knew their own superiority in numbers and equipment, they 
felt confident that the same disastrous result would not take place 
in case of another rencontre. The season for action was favourable. 
The formidable Commodore, who had struck terror to their hearts, 
was absent. Ciudad de los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, 
were each of them garrisoned with less than a hundred men. Ac- 
cordingly, Pico and Flores, with four or five hundred men, suddenly 
appeared before Ciudad de los Angeles. Major Gillespie, the com- 
mandant of the southern department, considered it vain to attempt 
resistance to a force so superior. He accordingly capitulated, and 
was allowed to retire to San Pedro. Santa Barbara was likewise 
captured, and San Diego closely besieged. Flores and Pico issued 
a flaming proclamation, calling upon their countrymen to rise in 
defence of California and drive the insolent invaders from their soil. 
They pretty generally responded to the call, and an army of about 
a thousand mounted men was soon collected. 

As soon as the Commodore was informed of their proceedings, 



MOVEMENTS OF COMMODORE STOCKTON. 129 

he made arrangements, with his usual promptitude, to quell this 
insurrection and restore peace to the territory. Captain Mervine, 
with the frigate Savannah, was ordered to proceed to San Pedro, 
with directions to hold the enemy in check till he should be rein- 
forced by the Commodore. Colonel Fremont was summoned to San 
Francisco with his battalion of volunteers. On the 12th of October 
he arrived with one hundred and twenty men. He was immediately 
despatched on the Sterling, with one hundred and sixty men, to Santa 
Barbara ; at which place, after procuring horses, he was directed 
to hold himself in readiness to join the Commodore in his march 
against the rebels at Ciudad de los Angeles. The Commodore, on 
the frigate Congress, sailed in company with the Sterling, but ran 
into Monterey, and, having strengthened the place with fifty men, 
proceeded to San Pedro. 

On his arrival there he found that the enemy were in the neigh- 
bourhood, with a force estimated at eight hundred men. Captain 
Mervine had landed, and with his crew commenced an advance on 
Ciudad de los Angeles. The enemy attacked him before he had 
made much progress, and after a short conflict defeated and drove 
him to his ship, and took possession of San Pedro.* 

The morning after his arrival, the Commodore landed, with three 
hundred men, in the face of the foe, and, after a skirmish, compelled 
them to retreat. A camp was formed at once, intrenchments 
thrown up, and preparations made with all haste to receive a re- 
newed attack. But, aware of the presence of the commander-in- 
chief, the enemy declined a battle, which was repeatedly offered by 
the Commodore, and contented themselves with harassing and 
threatening the Americans. When charged, they retreated with 
their flying artillery, and, taking a new position, continued to pour 
their fire into the American camp. Having no horses with which 
to manuoeuvre his guns or pursue the assailants, there was danger 
that his men would be worn out with fatigue. Learning also from 
his scouts the superior strength of the Californians, the Commo- 
dore was convinced that more ample preparations were necessary to 
justify his advance. San Pedro, however, was not the place where 
supplies could be obtained of cattle and horses. The anchorage 
was too insecure to risk his ships there at that season for any 
length of time. San Diego afforded a good and secure harbour, and 
there he determined to proceed and consummate his preparations 
for further offensive measures. There, too, he hoped to hear from 

* See Appendix A, Letter of Commodore Stockton to Secretary of the Navy, 
November 23, 1846. 

9 



130 PROC^ffiS TO SAN DIEGO. 

Colonel Fremont, and strengthen himself by a junction with the 
California battalion. 

On his way to San Diego, the Malek Adel was spoken, and in- 
formation received that Colonel Fremont, unable to obtain horses at 
Santa Barbara, had gone to Monterey for that purpose. Monterey 
was between five and six hundred miles north of San Diego. And 
the intelligence that Colonel Fremont had gone there, instead of 
southward, .seemed to afford no flattering prospect of any aid from 
him in time for an early movement on Ciudad ,de los Angeles. From 
the Mnlck Adel also the Commodore heard that Lieutenant Minor 
was besieged in San Diego ; and on his arrival there he found this 
to be the case, and the garrison reduced to severe straits. All the 
male inhabitants had deserted the place, leaving their destitute 
families dependent for food on Lieutenant Minor. In addition to 
these unfavourable circumstances, in attempting to enter the har- 
bour of San Diego the Congress grounded and was in danger of 
tumbling over. While the crew were engaged in staying the ship 
with spars, the town was vigorously attacked. Notwithstanding the 
perilous and embarrassing position of his ship, the Commodr)re, with 
as many of his men as could be spared, immediately landed, and, 
after a severe action, repulsed the enemy. 

As soon as the Congress was got off and securely anchored, all 
the marines and sailors of the Congress and Savannah were landed, 
and preparations commenced for the march on Ciudad de los Angeles. 
But tlie country in the neighbourhood had been scoured by the 
enemy, and every horse and quadruped driven away. The first 
preparation for an advance, therefore, was the acquisition of a sup- 
ply of horses, cattle, and sheep. These could not be obtained except 
from a distance so far south as to be beyond the sweep of the Cali- 
fornian rangers. 

Captains Ilenseley and Gibson were sent with a small detach- 
ment, for this purpose, to Lower California; but it was some time 
in December before they succeeded in collecting a sufficient number 
of horses and cattle. In the mean time the Commodore was inde- 
fatigable in performing all the duties of a provident commDnder. A 
portion of the men were employed in constructing a fort for the 
defence of San Diego. Others were directed to manufacture saddles 
for the horses, and shoes of canvass and hides, for the sailors were 
almost destitute of this indispensable article. Gun-carriages for 
the artillery also had to be made. The sailors were regularly ex- 
ercised in the peculiar drill prescribed for them. 

About the 1st of December, supposing that Colonel Fremont 



PREPARES TO MARCH ON LOS ANGELES. 131 

must have succeeded in mounting liis men, and consequently would 
be on his way down along the shore, the Commodore despatched a 
gunboat, under Lieutenant Selden, to cover his march at the mari- 
time Pass of Rincon — a narrow pass between the mountains and the 
sea, — where a small hostile force might otherwise have impeded his 
advance. No intelligence, however, had been received from Colonel 
Fremont; nor did the Commodore know what had been his success 
in mounting his men or obtaining supplies. The extensive region 
of country between San Diego and Monterey, where Fremont was 
last known to have gone, was in the hands of the enemy. This 
would render any communication from Fremont, except by way of 
the sea, impossible. Nevertheless, the Commodore, having full con- 
jfidence in the zeal and enterprise of Colonel Fremont, felt assured 
that he would, by this time, be on his march to Ciudad de los 
Angeles, and, without hearing from him, he determined on his own 
advance, as soon as Captains Henseley and Gibson (now expected 
every day) should arrive from the South with supplies. Scouts were 
sent off in various directions to reconnoitre the movements, position, 
and strength of the enemy, and his entire force held in such a 
state of preparation that on the shortest notice they would be able 
to proceed on the expedition. 

We may well conceive how distasteful to a commander of the 
Commodore's temperament this delay at San Diego must have been. 
Though delighting in action, and, when prepared to act, im- 
petuous and rapid in his movements. Commodore Stockton unites 
caution and prudence with those active qualities which characterize 
him. He leaves, if possible, nothing to chance. He makes every 
needful provision for emergencies with the most careful circum- 
spection. He calculates every step before he advances. But, when 
he determines upon action, he moves swiftly, he tolerates no delay : 
no obstacle is then deemed unsurmountable, no dangers formidable, 
no achievement impossible, 

While impatiently awaiting the return of Captains Henseley and 
Gibson, the Commodore was surprised by a messenger from General 
Kearney, bearing the following letter : — 

" Head-Quarters, Army of the West Camp at Warner's, 
December 2, 1846 

"Sir : — I this afternoon reached here, escorted by a party of the 
first regiment of dragoons. I came by orders of the President of 
the United Statps. We left Santa Fe on the 25th September, 
having taken possession of New INIexico, annexed it to the United 



132 CORRESPONDENCE D^^^EEN KEARNEY AND STOCKTON. 

States, established a civil government in that territory, and secured 
order, peace, and quietness there. 

"If you can send a party to open a communication ivith us on 
the route to this place, and to inform me of the state of affairs in 
California, I wisli you would do so, and as quickly as possible. 

" The fear of this letter falling into Mexican hands prevents me 
from writing more. Your express by Mr. Carson Avas met on the 
Del Norte ; and your mail must have reached Washington at least 
ten days since. 

" You might use the bearer, Mr. Stokes, as a guide to conduct 
your party to this place. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"S. W. Kearney, 
ii Brigadier-G-eneral U, S. A. 
" Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

" United States Navy, commanding 

Pacific Squadroji, San Diego." 

To this letter the Commodore, on the evening of its receipt, sent 
the following prompt reply: — 

" Head-Quartees, San Diego, December 3, 6J o'clock p.m. 
« Sir : — I have this moment received your note of yesterday by 
Mr. Stokes, and have ordered Captain Gillespie, with a detachment 
of mounted riflemen and a field-piece, to proceed to your camp with- 
out delay. 

" Captain Gillespie is well informed in relation to the present 
state of things in California, and will give you all needful informa- 
tion. I need not, therefore, detain him by saying any thing on the 
subject. 

" I will merely say that I have this evening received information, 
by two deserters from the rebel camp, of the arrival of an addi- 
tional force in this neighbourhood of one hundred men, which, in 
addition to the force previously here, makes their number about one 
hundred and fifty. 

" I send with Captain Gillespie, as a guide, one of the deserters, 
that you may make inquiries of him, and, if you see fit, endeavour 
to surprise them. 

" Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

" R. F. Stockton, Commander-in-chief 

and Governor of the Territory of California. 
"To Brigadier-General Kearney, 
^^ United States Army." 



RECEIVES A DESPATCH FROM KEARNEY. 133 

The letter of General Kearney did not inform the Commodore 
that the General was in any danger ; and his messenger represented 
him to have a force of three hundred and fifty men. On the even- 
ing on which the General's letter was received, the Commodore 
ordered Lieutenant Beale and Major Gillespie, with thirty-five men, 
to proceed as an escort to meet and welcome the General. A day 
or two after Lieutenant Beale and Major Gillespie had left, a mes- 
senger arrived from General Kearney with official information that 
the General had been attacked by a superior force and defeated, with 
the loss of eighteen men killed and many wounded, including the 
General himself, and the loss of part of his artillery. 

The messenger delivered the following despatch from General 
Kearney's camp: — 

" Head-Quartees, Camp near San Pasqual, 
December 6, 1846. 

" Sir : — I have the honour to report to you that at early dawn 
this morning. General Kearney, with a detachment of United States 
dragoons, and Captain Gillespie's company of mounted riflemen, had 
an engagement with a very considerable Mexican force near this 
camp. 

" We have eighteen killed and fourteen or fifteen wounded — several 
so severely that it may be impracticable to move them for several 
days. I have to suggest to you the propriety of despatching, with- 
out delay, a considerable force, to meet us on the route to San 
Diego, via the Lolidad and San Bernardo, or to find us at this place ; 
also, that you will send up carts, or some other means of transport- 
ing our wounded to San Diego. We are without provisions, and in 
our present situation may find it impracticable to obtain cattle from 
the ranches in the vicinity. 

" General Kearney is among the wounded, but, it is hoped, not 
dangerously ; Captains Moore and Johnston, 1st dragoons, killed ; 
Captain Gillespie, badly, but not dangerously, wounded ; Lieuten- 
ant Hammond, 1st dragoons, dangerously wounded. 

" I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" H. S. Turner, 
i^Captain United States Army, Commanding."'^ 

Immediately on the receipt of this letter the Commodore prepared 
to march at the head of all his little army to the relief of the General. 

* This letter, and the two which precede it in this chaptei-, are part of the report 
of the Secretary of the Navy, Feb. 14, 1849. Having inserted them here, they are 
omitted in Appendix A. 



134 KEARNEY S INTERFE^^^CE WITH STOCKTON'S EXPRESS. 

But, before he could carry this intention into execution, Lieutenant 
Beale came in and furnished the first reliable account of the enemy's 
strength. They did not amount to more than a hundred and twenty- 
five men. A detachment, under Lieutenant Gray, of two hundred 
and fifteen men, were then immediately sent to the General's camp. 
They found him besieged on the hill of San Bernardo, without water, 
provisions, or horses, and his men worn out with fatigue. Upon the 
approach of Lieutenant Gray the enemy withdrew, and the General 
and his dragoons were safely escorted to San Diego. 

General Kearney, in the spring of 184G, having overrun New 
Mexico and suppressed whatever of hostile resistance to the L^nited 
States was exhibited there, was directed, by instructions from the 
War Department bearing date the 3d and 18th of June, to raise one 
thousand men, and proceed with them across the country to Cali- 
fornia, and, " should" he " conquer and take possession" of the 
country, " to establish a temporary civil government therein."* July 
12, similar orders were issued to the naval commander in California. 

When only four days' march from Santa Fe, the general met Kit 
Carson, the express of Commodore Stockton, en route for AVashing- 
ton, bearing despatches to the government, with the information that 
California had been conquered, and a civil government organized 
which was peaceably acquiesced in by the inhabitants. Carson com- 
municated the substance of this information to the General. The 
General, with no great courtesy to the Commodore, compelled Car- 
son to return with him,| forwarding his despatches by a messenger 
of his own selection. J 

General Kearney having thus learned that the objects of hig 
expedition had been anticipated and the orders of the government 
addressed to him already executed, might with propriety have turned 
back himself. He did dismiss the greater part of his men, and 
sent them back to New Mexico, but proceeded with about eighty 
dragoons on his way to California. He should either have carried 
into effect strictly the ivliole of his orders and gone to California 
with the 1000 men he was directed to raise for that purpose, and 
with whom he had started, or, upon being informed that the special 
duty which he was instructed to perform was already successfully 

* See despatch of 3d Juno, in Appendix B. 

f See Carson's statement from Mr. Benton's speech, in Appendix C. 

X Mr. Benton, commenting on this interference by General Kearney with the ex- 
press of Commodore Stockton, says, that if Carson had been permitted to proceed, he 
would have returned from Washington in time to have prevented all collision between 
the Commodore and the General. 



KEARNEY DEFEATED BY THE CALIFORNIANS. 135 

accomplislied by others, he should have abstained altogether from 
going. It by no means should have been taken for granted by him 
that the services of all his troops would not be needed in California, 
although it had been already conquered. 

From subsequent events it may be inferred that the chief object 
of General Kearney in proceeding to California with his slender 
escort, after he had heard of its conquest by Commodore Stockton, 
was to assume and exercise the functions of governor. This mis- 
take of the General, no matter to what motives attributed, produced 
the subsequent conflict of authority between Commodore Stockton 
and himself. 

The facts in relation to this conflict constitute part of the history 
of Commodore Stockton's proceedings in California, and an authen- 
tic narrative of them is necessary to a complete understanding of 
those proceedings. Justice to the living requires that the whole 
truth should be told, whoever may suff'er by the revelation. 

After being reinforced by Lieutenant Beale ana Major Gillespie, 
the General found his progress impeded by the enemy, and on 
the 6th of December attempted to surprise them at San Pasqual. 
The accounts we have received from officers who Avere present and 
engaged in the action, as well as from official documents, vary ma- 
terially from General Kearney's official report. Doubtless the 
General supposed that the Californians were as feeble and cowardlj 
a race as the New Mexicans, whom he had vanquished so easily. 
Whether such was the case or not, it turned out that he was 
himself surprised. 

The Californians feigned a flight, drew his best-mounted dragoons 
into the open plain, (thus separating tbem from the remainder whe 
were more imperfectly mounted,) and then, suddenly wheeling upon 
those in the advance, dashed with the speed of Arabian coursers into 
their ranks, disordered by this unexpected charge, lancing and 
shooting his men, and compelling the survivors to save themselves 
by. flight. Eighteen men were killed and fifteen wounded. Cap- 
tains More and Johnston, of the dragoons, were among the killed. 
, General Kearney and Lieutenant Beale and Captain Gillespie were 
among the wounded. After lancing the artillery-men, the enemy 
succeeded in capturing and driving ofi" the mules hitched to one of 
the howitzers. Satisfied with their success, the Californians abstained 
from any further attack, and contented themselves with holding him 
in check. The General took refuge on the hill of San Bernardo, 
whe-ie they surrounded and besieged him. He was without water, 
supplies, or ammunition. Major Emory, one of his officers, in his 



136 STOCKTON OFFERS KEARNEY THE COMMAND-IN-CIIIEF, 

"Notes of a Military Recognisance througli New Mexico to Cali- 
fornia," published by order of Congress, thus states the condition 
of General Kearney at San Bernardo : — " Our provisions were 
exhausted, our horses dead, and our men, now reduced to one-third 
their number, were ragged, worn down by fatigue, and emaciated." 

While thus besieged, with the prospect of being compelled to 
capitulate or else to attempt cutting his way through at all hazards, 
Lieutenant Beale, Mr. Godey, and an Indian, on the night of the 7th 
succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the foe and escaped. After 
great privations, they reached San Diego by different routes, and 
gave the Commodore precise intelligence of the General's critical 
condition, from which he was relieved by Lietenant Gray and his 
detachment, sent, as we have stated, by Stockton. 

General Kearney was received by the Commodore with the utmost 
cordiality and kindness. He surrendered to him his own quarters, 
and treated him with the most delicate attentions and chivalric 
courtesy. Every reasonable effort was made to supply all his neces- 
sary wants and to minister to his comfort. He was immediately 
put in possession of the Commodore's plans, — his intended expedi- 
tion to Ciudad de los Angeles and the expected co-operation of Fre- 
mont, — and furnished with all the information necessary to a com- 
plete understanding of the posture of affoirs. 

Though it was quite natural that, after making the needful pre- 
paration for the march on Ciudad de los Angeles, the Commodore 
should feel desirous to conduct it himself and reap the honours 
which might accrue from success, yet, nevertheless, appreciating 
and conceding the qualifications of General Kearney to command 
a land-force, and more anxious that the enterprise should succeed 
than that he should himself enjoy the glory of success, he magnani- 
mously tendered the command-in-chief to General. Kearney, and 
offered to accompany him as his aid-de-camp. This generous offer 
was peremptorily declined. Whether the General supposed the 
Commodore better qualified to command the army consisting princi- 
pally of seamen, or whether ashamed to supersede his benefactor, 
or, perhaps, shrinking from the responsibility of conducting so im- 
portant an expedition with such an army, ludicrously armed and 
equipped, he thrice declined the offers of the Commodore to devolve 
on him the command-in-chief,* and offered to go as his aid. But, 
though unwilling to assume the command-in-chief, the General, after 



* See, in Appendix A, Commodore Stockton's Official Letters ; also, Appendix B, 
extracts from Proceedings of Court-martial on Fremont. 



LETTER FROM KEARNEY TO STOCKTON. 137 

exhibiting his orders from the Secretary of War of June 3 and 18, 
1846, intimated his expectation that he would be permitted to exer- 
cise the functions of civil governor. 

The Commodore, having furnished copies of his own correspond- 
ence with the government for the General's information, in which 
all his proceedings in California were detailed and his intentioii 
to appoint Colonel Fremont civil governor distinctly expressed, 
courteously but explicitly informed the General that his orders, even 
if they had not been superseded by those of a later date, had never- 
theless been anticipated and executed previously to his arrival. 
General Kearney's orders made his assumption of the civil govern- 
ment of California contingent upon his own conquest of the country. 
That contingency could never take place. Commodore Stockton's 
official information of these facts was before the government, and, 
until its pleasure, as enlightened by these facts, had been communi- 
cated to him, he would not alter or modify his intentions or 
arrangements.* 

Nothing more was said at this time by General Kearney on the 
subject of his claim to the civil governorship of California. He 
apparently acquiesced in the decision of the Commodore, who really 
supposed that General Kearney, upon further reflection, coincided 
with the views which had been presented to him. The Commodore 
believed that General Kearney, agreeably to his offer, would accom- 
pany him as his aid on the expedition to Ciudad de los Angeles. 

It must be apparent, from the previous narrative, that General 
Kearney was well informed of the proposed advance on Ciudad de 
los Angeles, for it was in reference to that advance that he had 
offered to act as aid to the Commodore. He was cognizant of the 
preparations made for it, and knew that the Commodore was only 
awaiting the return of Captains Henseley and Gibson with a supply 
of horses and cattle. "With this knowledge, on the 22d of Decem- 
ber he addressed the Commodore the following extraordinary 
letter : — 

" San Diego, December 22, 1846. 

"Dear Commodore : — If you can take from here a sufficient force 
to oppose the Californians, now supposed to be near the Pueblos 
and waiting for the approach of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, / ad- 
vise that you do so, and that you march with that force as early as 
possible in the direction of the Pueblos, by which you will be able 
to form a junction with Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, or make a 

* See Appendix B. 



138 kearney'^N'textion in writing it. 

diversion very much in his favour. I do not think that Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fremont should be left unsupported to fight a battle upon 
■which the fate of California may for a long time depend, if there are 
troops here to act in concert ^vith him. Your force as it advances 
might surprise the enemy at the San Luis mission, and make pri- 
soners of them. I shall be happy in such an expedition to accom- 
pany and to give you any aid either of head or hand of which I may 
be capable. "Yours truly, 

<'S. W. Kearney, Brij.- General. 
"Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

^^ Commanding U. S. Forces, San Diego."* 

There could be no possible motive for writing such a letter ex- 
cept, first, to found on it a claim to the credit of having suggested 
the expedition to Los Angeles ; and, second, to use it with Fremont 
as a claim to his support against Stockton. Accordingly, we find, 
in his testimony on the court-martial of Colonel Fremont, that 
General Kearney actuallg did make this use of it. On page 47 of 
those proceedings. General Kearney testifies: — "In the latter end 
of December an expedition was organized at San Diego, to march 
to Los Angeles to assist Lieutenant Fremont, and ivas organized in 
consequence, as I believe, of a paper which I addressed to Commo- 
dore Stockton." 

Commodore Stockton at once saw through the purposes of the 
General. Having only the previous morning informed him of his 
intention to move onward, he must very naturally have considered 
the General's volunteer advice to do that which the General well 
knew he intended to do, as insulting and prompted by some sinister 
motive. It was an attempt on the part of the General to make 
out a paper-claim to the paternity of a movement for which the 
Commodore had been preparing more than two months. It is quite 
probable that Stockton was aware, from various little indications, 
that Kearney was jealous of his exercise of authority, and mortified 
at his refusal to surrender it to him, and that a breach with him, 
sooner or later, Avas inevitable. Kearney had been heard to speak 
contemptuously of the sailors as land-forces, and to doubt their 
ability to cope with the mounted Californians. The Commodore, 
therefore, whose nature it is to meet an enemy more than half way, 
replied to the General in such a manner that, if he were disposed to 
take oifence, he would not fail to do so for want of an opportunity. 

* Proceedings of Cuurt-martial of Colonel Fremont, p. 47. 



STOCKTON'S REPLY. 139 

The insult conveyed by the General's letter was ambiguous on the 
face of it. But, whether written merely to support his claim to having 
originated the expedition, or whether designed to convince Fremont 
that he was a better friend of his than Stockton, it was equally 
offensive. But there was no ambiguity in the reply of the Commo- 
dore. The turpitude of the imputation was as plain as language 
could make it, and must have required all the General's philosophy 
to digest. The reply was as follows : — 

"Head-Quarters, San Diego, December 23, 1846. 

« Dear General : — Your note of yesterday was handed to me 
last night by Captain Turner, of the dragoons. 

^^ In reply to that note, permit me to refer you to the conversation 
held with you yesterday morning at your quarters. I stated to you 
that I intended to march upon San Luis Rey as soon as possible 
with a part of the forces under my command ; that I was very de- 
sirous to march on to the Pueblo to co-operate with Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fremont, but my movements, after taking San Luis Rey, 
would depend entirely on the information that I might receive as to 
the movements of Colonel Fremont and the enemy. It might be 
necessary for me to stop the pass at San Filippe, or march back to 
San Diego. 

^'■Now, my dear Creneral, if the object of your note is to advise me 
to do any tiling ivliich would enable a larger force of the enemy to 
get in my rear, and cut off my communications ivith San Diego^ 
and hazard the safety of the garrison and the ships in the harbour , 
you ivill excuse me for saying I cannot folloiv any such advice. 

"My purpose still is to march for San Luis Rey as soon as I can 
get the dragoons and riflemen mounted, which I hope to do in two 
days. Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

"R. F. Stockton, Oommander-in-chief ^c, 

" Governor of the Territory of Qalifornia. 
<■<■ To Brigadier-General S. W. Kearney, 

i^U. S. Army."* 

To this suggestive epistle the General replied in the following 
deprecatory and apologetic terms : — 

"San Diego, December 23, 1846. 

"Dear Commodore: — I have received yours of this date, repeat- 
ing, as you say, what you stated to me yesterday ; and, in reply, I 

* Proceedings of Court-martial on Fremont, p. 111. 



140 PREPARES TO MARCH ON LOS ANGELES. 

have only to remark that, if I had so understood you, I certainly 
"would not have written my letter to you of last evening. 

"You certainly could not for a moment suppose that I would ad- 
vise or suggest to you any movement which might endanger the 
safety of the garrison and the ships in this harbour. 

"My letter of yesterday's date stated that <If you can take from 
here,' &c., of which you were the judge, and of which I knew no- 
thing. Yours truly, 

" S. W. Kearney, Brigadier- General. 
" Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

" Commanding U. tS. JVavi/, ^c. ^c, San Diego."* 

On the 29th of December, having received his supplies and made 
every needful arrangement in his power, the whole force was paraded 
for the advance on Ciudad de los Angeles.f 

Each officer had his appropriate duty assigned him. Captain 
Turner's company of dismounted dragoons preferred marching on 
foot,;j; declining the horses tendered them by the Commodore as 
unfit for duty. They, aided by Lieutenant Davidson, Lieutenant 
Tilghman with 'six pieces of artillery. Midshipman W. W. A. Thom- 
son, and Captain Gillespie's mounted riflemen, acted as the advance, 
the rear, and vanguard. The marines of the Congress and Ports- 
mouth were commanded by Captain Zeilen, who also acted as adju- 
tant of the battalion. The musketeers of the Congress, Savannah, 
Cyane, and Portsmouth, were officered by Lieutenants Renshaw, 
Hunter, and Higgins, Midshipmen George Morgan, Philip, Lee, 
Allmand, Wells, Grafton, Duvall, Haywood, and Commodore's Clerk 
Mr. Simmons. The carbineers of the Congress were under Midship- 
men Duncan and Stenson and Sailmaker Reed, aidpd by Midship- 
men Parish and Shepherd, — in all, about six hundred men. Purser 
Speiden performed the duties of commissary; Lieutenant Minor, of 
the Savannah, acted as quarter-master; Mr. Southwick, carpenter 
of the Congress, was chief engineer, and Captain Emory adjutant- 
general. Lieutenant Rowan was to act as commander of the 
division. Lieutenant A. F. V. Gray and Captain Miguel Pedro- 
vena were appointed aids to the commander-in-chief; which position, 
also, the Commodore, up to this time, supposed General Kearney 
was to occupy, agreeably to his previous offer. He had heard, pre- 

* See proceedings of Court-martial, p. 112. 

f For the order of the march see Commodore Stockton's Letter, February 5, 1847, 
Appendix A. 

X See Captain Turner's Letter, Appendix B. 



KEARNEY TAKES ROWAN'S PLACE. 141 

vious to that moment, when the advance was commencing, no inti- 
mation that the General desired any other post. 

It is possible that he had not till then decided whether or not he 
would accompany the expedition. But, just before the march com- 
menced, he approached the Commodore and inquired who was to have 
command of the troops. The Commodore informed him that Lieu- 
tenant Rowan had been designated for that duty. Kearney then 
expressed a wish to take charge of them ; when the Commodore, 
with that courtesy which marked his personal intercourse with the 
General, immediately called up several officers, including Lieutenant 
Rowan, and informed them of the General's wish. Lieutenant 
Rowan cheerfully gave way to the General; and the Commodore 
informed them that General Kearney would take the place of Lieu- 
tenant Rowan, while he would himself act as Commander-in-Chief.* 

* See Appendix D, 



142 MABAB ON LOS ANGELES. 



J^ 



CHAPTER XI. 

UABCH ON CIUDAD DE lOS ANGELES — COMMISSIONER FROM FLORF.S — THE COMMODORE'S 
TREATMENT OF HIM — LETTER TO COLONEL FREMONT — BATTLES OF SAN GABRIEL AND 

THE MESA DISPERSION OF THE ENEMY — COMMODORE STOCKTON RE-ENTERS CIUDAD 

DE LOS ANGELES TREATY OF COENGO — COLONEL FREMONT APPOINTED CIVIL GOVER- 
NOR — GENERAL KEARNEY's PRETENSIONS DISMISSED FROM HIS COMMAND OF THE 

TROOPS GENERAL PACIFICATION OF CALIFORNIA COMMODORE STOCKTON R'ETl'RNS 

TO HIS SHIPS — KEARNEY AND FREMONT ENTIRE APPROVAL OF STOCKTON'S PRO- 
CEEDINGS BY GOVERNMENT PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE — REPORTS OF SECRETARIES 

OF NAVY AND WAR. 

CiUDAD DE LOS Angeles is distant about one hundred and fifty 
miles from San Diego. The route is intersected with abrupt 
mountains, deep ravines, and plains of sand. It afforded the most 
favourable facilities for defence by the enemy, had they possessed 
the sagacity or enterprise to profit by them. 

The troops under Commodore Stockton in this expedition con- 
sisted of between five and six hundred sailors and marines, and 
General Kearney's sixty dismounted dragoons. There were six 
guns, principally six-pounders, and a howitzer brought by General 
Kearney. There were but about two hundred muskets in the whole 
army. The sailors were armed principally Avith carbines and board- 
ing-pikes. The horses procured by Captains Gibson and Ilenseley 
were rejected by General Kearney as unfit for use, and those which 
were employed for the transportation of the artillery, ammunition, 
and baggage, were so emaciated and feeble that the sailors had to 
perform the chief part of their labour. 

The army depended for provisions almost exclusively on the cattle 
and sheep procured by Captains Gibson and Henseley. They 
were herded together and enclosed in a hollow square, and thus 
guarded both from the depredations of the enemy and from the 
danger of escape. 

In crossing the dry sandy bed of the San Diego three hours 
were consumed. This unpromising commencement of the march 
induced many to express the opinion that it was impossible to 
proceed. The Commodore inquired of the guides if there was water 
to be obtained on the route. They said, "No, no; not until they 
arrived at the Solidad," — the end of the proposed march for the 



EEACHES SAN LUIS RET. 143 

first day. "Then," said the Commodore, "there we must go, cost 
what it may." And there they did go, though the carts and guns 
had to be drawn by hand two-thirds of the way. On the next 
morning the men came in squads and asked the Commodore for 
twenty-four hours' rest. This request at first was granted, and orders 
to that effect issued. But, after a few hours, his restless perse- 
verance induced him to resume the march, and they proceeded 
eight miles to the next watering-place. During the march, his 
men, on frequent occasions, preferred similar demands for rest, but 
without obtaining the wished-for respite. 

It was owing to this rapid advance of the Commodore that the 
enemy were compelled to abandon a plan they had formed to 
attack and intercept Colonel Fremont. They were afraid to leave 
the city of Los Angeles lest it should be captured by the Commo- 
dore. Nor, with the exception of a few skirmishers, who hovered 
on his advance, did they attempt any offensive operations until he 
had approached within two days' march of Ciudad de los Angeles. 

A few days after leaving San Diego, commissioners, bearing a 
communication to the Commander-in-Chief, made their appearance, 
and, having been first met by General Kearney, were referred to the 
Commodore. They were bearers of a letter from General Flores, 
the Californian commander. The Commodore refused to receive 
any communication from him, he having broken his parole of 
honour. He rejected the letter without reading it, and directed the 
commissioners to inform General Flores that if he should be cap- 
tured again he would be shot ; that he was not an honourable man, 
and that no negotiations could be held with him. 

San Luis Rey was reached on the 2d of January. On the 3d, 
Commodore Stockton despatched a courier, Mr. Hanly, to find Fre- 
mont, with a letter, which, as it is quite characteristic, we shall 
transfer to our narrative. 

"Camp at San Litis Ret, January 3, 1847. 

" My dear Colonel : — We arrived here last night from San 
Diego, and leave to-day on our march for the City of the Angels, 
where I hope to be in five or six days. I learn this morning that 
you are at Santa Barbara, and send this despatch by the way of 
San Diego, in the hope that it may reach you in time. If there is 
one single chance for you, you had better not fight the rebels until 
I get up to aid you, or you can join me on the road to the Pueblo. 

"These fellows are well prepared, and Mervine and Kearney's 
defeat has given them a deal more confide7ice and courage. If you 



144 OFFERS BATTLE TO THE ENEMY. 

do figlit before I see you, keep your forces in close order. Do not 
allow them to be separated or unnecessarily extended. They will 
probably try to deceive you by a sudden retreat or pretended run- 
aAvay, and then unexpectedly return to the charge after your men 
get in disorder in the chase. My advice to you is to allow them to 
do all the charging and running, and let your rifles do the rest. 

" In the art of horsemanship, of dodging and running, it is in 
vain to compete with them. 

" In haste, very truly, your friend and obedient servant, 

"R. F. Stockton. 
"To Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, &c."* 

On the evening of the 7th of January, being satisfied that the 
enemy could not be far distant, the Commodore ordered some of 
the scouts, under cover of night, to proceed in advance and ascertain 
their position. At ten o'clock P. M. the scouts returned with the 
information that the enemy were encamped on the river San Ga- 
briel, but a few miles off. lie was of opinion that they intended to 
offer battle on the next day. "The day suited" him, as he said in 
his despatch to the Secretary of the Navy of the 5th of February, 
1847. 

On the morning of the 8th, as the Commodore sprang from his 
pallet before day, h* said to his aid, Lieutenant Gray, "If I live, 
and the enemy will fight, I will give the San Gabriel a name in 
history along with that of the Bridge of Lodi." 

At nine o'clock, as they came out on the plain, he marshalled his 
little army in square, with the cattle, ammunition, and baggage- 
carts in the centre, and thus advanced until they came in sight of 
the opposing force. He found them advantageously posted on a 
bluff or range of low hills on the other side of the river, about six 
hundred yards from it. Their artillery was so placed as to com- 
mand the ford, and strongly supported on each side with detach- 
ments of cavalry. The position of the enemy was well chosen, and 
their numbers about the same as that of the Americans. Before the 
latter had reached the river, about one hundred and fifty Califor- 
nians crossed, but, without attempting a charge, soon retraced their 
steps, being driven by Captain Ilenseley's dismounted skirmishers. 
The Commodore now disposed his force for an assault on the 
enemy's position, and, passing through the ranks of his men, 
reminded them that it was the 8th of January, and that he expected 

* See proceedings of Court-martial on Colonel Fremont, page 272. 



BATTLE OF THE SAN GABKIEL. 145 

their conduct would add new lustre to the day. As his men 
advanced in broken files to the ford, the enemy opened a galling 
fire of round and grape shot. On the brink of the river, the column 
was halted, the guns unlimbered, by order of General Kearney, to 
return the fire of the enemy. Commodore Stockton, as soon as he 
perceived this, ordered the guns limbered up, and that not a shot 
should be fired until they had reached the opposite bank.* 

In the face of the incessant fire of the foe, the whole force moved 
forward. General Kearney proceeded to try the ford, and, when 
about midway over, sent a message to the Commodore that it 
would be impossible to pass over the guns, as the bed of the river 
was a quicksand. On receiving this message the Commodore sprang 
from his horse into the river, and, taking hold of the ropes, said, 
"Quicksand or no quicksand, the guns shall pass over !" The men, 
cheered by his example, seized the ropes also, and soon landed the 
guns, with three cheers, on the other bank. 

The enemy stood their ground bravely, and continued an inces- 
sant fire. One man was killed alongside the Commodore. But 
their shots mostly passed over the heads of the assailants. 

The whole force was now disposed for a charge up the bluff. 
The artillery in the centre, before the charge was ordered, under 
the immediate direction of the Commodore, opened a fire on the 
position of the enemy. He levelled and aimed the guns himself, 
and such was the precision of his shots, that at the second or third 
round he disabled one of the enemy's guns and silenced their bat- 
tery. They retreated from their guns several times, but soon re- 
turned, and finally withdrew them to their rear. General Kearney, 
on the right, was now ordered to form a square to support the left 
flank, which was threatened by a charge from the enemy's right. 
The charge was made and gallantly repulsed. The Commodore 
then sent his aid. Lieutenant Gray, to General Kearney, with orders 
to charge up the hill with his square,! while he advanced with the 

* See Proceedings of Court-martial, Appendix, Purser Speiden's Letter. 

f As General Kearney in some of his despatches claims to have commanded in 
this battle as well as during the whole expedition, we insert here the testimony of 
Lieutenant Gray on this point, given on the trial of Colonel Fremont. See also 
Appendix for further information on this subject. 

Extract from Proceedings of Court-martial of Colonel Fremont, p. 210. 
"Andrew F. Gray, a lieutenant in the navy, a witness on the part of the defence, 
being duly sworn by the judge-advocate, according to law, testified as follows : — 
" Question. — State the position you held under Commodore Stockton at San Diego. 
^* Answer. — I was his aid, and one of the lieutenants of the Congress. 

10 

1 



146 DEFE^OF THE ENEMY. 

centre and the artillery in battery. The enemy defended their 
position but a few moments, and then broke and retreated, their 
main body taking a position, flanked by a ravine, a half mile from 
the bluff. Their right wing, making a circuit, attacked the Ameri- 
can rear under Captain Gillespie, who, though encumbered with 
the baggage and cattle, gave them such a receptiou that they fled 
across the river. 

The left wing of the enemy and their centre from the ravine 
now opened with their artillery on the Americans. The Commo- 
dore, with his usual care of his men, made them lie down to avoid 
the shot, and took charge of his guns in front, aiming and firing them 
himself, until the foe were driven from their batteries. As soon as 



'■'Question. — Did you hear Commodore Stockton offer to go as General Kearney's 
aid? And did you hear General Kearney offer to go as Commodore Stockton's aid? 

'* Answer. — I did. 

" Question. — Did you hear the address of Commodore Stockton to bis officers at 
the time when the position which had been assigned to Lieutenant Rowan was given 
to General Kearney ? and if so, will you state what passed on that occasion ? 

''Answer. — I was present on the occasion referred to. I heard Commodore Stock- 
ton confer the command of the forces on General Kearney, reserving to himself the 
office of commander-in-chief. 

" The words were, ' Gentlemen, General Kearney has kindly offered to go with 
us. Public duty requires that I should appoint him to the command of the forces. 
You will obey him accordingly, reserving to myself the office of commander-in-chief.' 
Those are the words, as nearly as I can recollect them. 

" Question. — Did you bear an order from Commodore Stockton on the 8th of Janu- 
ary, 1847, on the field of battle ? If so, state the order and the circumstances. 

"Answer. — I did bear such an order on the 8th of January to General Kearney on 
the field of battle. The enemy had been observed to withdraw their guns from the 
height. The Commodore directed me to go to General Kearney and say to him to 
send a square and a field-piece immediately upon the height to prevent the enemy 
retui-ning with their guns. I went and gave him the order, and, on my returning to 
Commodore Stockton, observed the division or square near General Kearney moving 
towards the hill. 

" Question. — Did yo'u bear that order in your character of aid-de-camp to Governor 
Stockton ? 

"Answer. — Yes. 

" Cross-examined by Judge-Advocate. 

, " Question. — Do you recollect the words and manner in which you delivered that 
order ? Did you deliver it so that General Kearney must have received it as a per- 
emptory order or as a suggestion ? 

'"Answer. — I carried it as an order in the usual respectful way. How General 
Kearney received it, of course I cannot say. He did not show by his manner that it 
was disagreeable, according to the best of my recollection." 

See also Appendix B. 



BATTLE OP THE MESA. 147 

he perceived them waver, he ordered an advance of his whole force, 
when the enemy left their guns and fled in confusion. Having no 
cavalry, it was impossible to follow them. 

The American loss was only two killed and nine wounded. The 
loss of the enemy, as afterwards ascertained, was over seventy 
killed and. one hundred and fifty wounded. 

The Americans encamped on the field of battle near the river San 
Gabriel. 

On the morning of the 9th they pursued the track of the retreat- 
ing foe in the direction of Ciudad de los Angeles. After proceeding 
about six miles across the plains of the Mesa, the Californians ap- 
peared in battle-array in a position well chosen, flanked by a ravine, 
on the brink of which their artillery was fixed. As soon as the 
Amej'icans approached near enough to be reached by it, their 
artillery began to play. The Commodore again took charge of the 
American guns, directing his men to lie flat on the ground ; he 
alone stood up with the men who worked the guns, and he ordered 
them, too, to fall as soon as they saw the flash of the enemy's 
guns. In a short time he made the enemy's position so dangerous 
that they prepared to charge. The Americans were then formed 
into a square, with their baggage, cattle, and mules in the centre of 
it, the Commodore, with the artillery, occupying a position on the 
side of the square opposite to the enemy. As they approached, f 
their force divided for the purpose of attacking, simultaneously, 
three sides of the square. The Commodore ordered his men to re- 
serve their fire until they could see the faces of their foes distinctly, 
and till they should hear the report of his rifle. 

The appearance which the Californians made on this occasion, 
mounted on fine horses, gaily caparisoned with ribbons and pen- 
nons streaming to the breeze, was brilliant and exciting. On they 
came at full gallop, the earth quivering beneath their hoofs, their 
bright weapons flashing in the rays of the sun, — apparently, with 
desperate valour, bent on hurling themselves upon the small, com- 
pact, and silent mass which awaited their charge. But, when they 
had approached as near as the Commodore thought proper, he gave 
the signal, and a deadly fire from the Americans emptied many a 
saddle and checked their gallant advance. Retiring a little, they 
rallied their disordered ranks, and again charged. Three times this 
charge was bravely made and as bravely repulsed, when, in de- 
spair, and finding the American square impenetrable and unterri- 
fied, the Californians abandoned the field and fled, dispersing in 
diflerent directions. Having no cavalry of importance, it was im- 



148 TAKES POSSESlgP^r OF LOS ANGELES. 

possible for the Americans to pursue them. The enemy's loss was 
considerable, though it could not be ascertained, because they cSh- 
ried off in their flight both their dead and wounded. 

The Commodore continued his march on the 9th, and arrived in 
the neighbourhood of Ciudad de los Angeles in the evening. On 
the following day, at the head of his army, he marched into the 
city and again took possession of it. The same American flag Avhich 
Major Gillespie had been jpompelled to strike, the Commodore 
ordered to be again raised.^ 

The battles of San Gabriel and the Mesa, on the 8th and 9th of 
January, decided the fate of California, They broke effectually the 
spirit of resistance to American authority. The Californians made 
a gallant and brave stand to uphold the supremacy of Mexico. 
Under abler and more experienced commanders it would have«been 
impossible to have conquered California unless with an army far 
superior in numbers and training to that led by Commodore Stockton. 

It may well be doubted, however, without any disparagement to 
others, whether any other commander than Stockton, with such a 
force, so heterogeneous and extraordinary, could have accom- 
plished similar results. 

The scattered remnants of the Californian army, under Fiores 
and Pico, a few days after the Commodore took possession of Ciudad 
de los Angeles, hearing of the approach of Colonel Fremont, threw 
themselves in his way and made overtures of peace. Having already 
been repulsed by Stockton in their attempts to negotiate, because 
they had broken their parole of honour^ they now addressed them- 
selves to Colonel Fremont ; he granted them an armistice, and 
opened negotiations for a final pacification. On the 13th he con- 
cluded a formal treaty with them, by which they agreed to cease all 
hostilities and to acknoAvledge the authority of the United States. 
Ilis treaty of capitulation he despatched by the hands of Colonel W. 
H. llussell to Ciudad de los Angeles, with directions to submit it to 
Commodore Stockton or General Kearney, whichever was acting as 
commander-in-chief. 

Colonel Russell, upon his arrival at Ciudad de los Angeles, waited 
upon General Kearney first, but was directed by him to submit it 
to Commodore Stockton as the commander-in-chief.* He finally, 

* Extract from Proceedings of Court-martial, p. 321. 
" Mr. H. Russell — a witness. 
"Answer. — As before stated in my chief examination, I was despatched by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fremont, on the evening of the capitulation of General jVndreas Pico, 



SUBMISSION OF THE COUNTRY. 149 

though not without hesitation, approved the ai'ticles of capitulation. 
Courtesy and kind feelings towards Fremont made him disposed to 
ratify a treaty which afforded him some claim to have participated 
in the important events which terminated in the acquisition of the 
country. Clemency after victory likewise he thought to be sound 
policy. The subsequent tranquillity of the country justified this 
conclusion. The inhabitants thenceforward peacefully submitted to 
the authority of the United States, 

However meritorious the conduct of Colonel Fremont in co-ope- 
rating with Stockton and sustaining his authority by the levy of 
troops and obedience to his orders, nevertheless he was not so for- 
tunate as to participate in any of the conflicts which decided the 
fate of California. Castro was driven out of the country without 
his direct aid. He was too late to take part in the decisive actions of 
the 8th and 9th of January. Indeed, from the time the Commodore 
left San Diego until his second occupation of Ciudad de los Angeles, 
he had heard nothing from Fremont and knew nothing of his 
movements. Undoubtedly the force which Colonel Fremont had 
levied and was marching forward to co-operate with Stockton exer- 
cised a salutary influence on the minds of the Californians. The 
ready obedience of Fremont to the directions of his commander-in- 
chief, his industry and perseverance, and the fortitude with which 
he contended against great obstacles, entitle him to high praise as 
well as the grateful consideration of his country. The general 
plans of both the campaigns, however, by which California was con- 
quered and reconquered, were conceived, dii-ected, and executed by 
Commodore Stockton. This was abundantly shown by Colonel 
Fremont in his defence when on trial before the court-martial at 
Washington in November and December, 1847. A large number 
of witnesses who were present in California during the whole war 
were examined on that trial, and their testimony can justify no other 
conclusion. 



commander-in-chief of the Californians, to Los Angeles, where both Commodore 
Stockton and General Kearney were, and specially instructed by him (Colonel Fre- 
mont) to ascertain by all means possible who was in chief command, and to make a 
report accordingly of the capitulation of that day. I called first on General Kearney, 
and delivered to him a note or letter addressed to him by Colonel Fremont in ac- 
knowledgment of one that he (Colonel Fremont) had received from General Kearney 
on the march. I told General Kearney my business, and was directed by him to 
make my report to Commodore Stockton, whom he acknowledged as being in chief com- 
mand, and admitted to me that he had served under him, as such, from San Diego to 
Los Angeles. I accordingly made the report to the Commodore." 



150 Fremont's ^mB.T in the war. 

From the tlay -when tlie CominoJore commcnceJ liis marcli from 
San Diego to his triumphant entry into Ciudad de los Angeles, 
General Kearney, as well as all others under him, acted in entire 
subordination to his authority. The Commodore was the com- 
mander-in-chief, as such was addressed in all the letters and notes 
he received from Kearney. He ordered when the army should 
move and when it should halt and where it should encamp. He re- 
ceived and rejected contemptuously the message from Flores. To 
him the Adjutant-General Emory, the particular friend of Kearney, 
reported the list of killed and Avounded after the actions of the 8th 
and 9th.* 

Colonel Fremont arrived in Ciudad de los Angeles on the 15th 
day of January. Having inadvertently suffered himself to be drawn 
into correspondence by General Kearney, the General assumed to 
find in one of his letters a recognition of his authority from seniority 
of rank. Fremont, however, throughout the California war, was 
strictly and technically in the naval service under Commodore 
Stockton. He had taken service under him with an express agree- 
ment that he would continue subject to his orders as long as he 
continued in command in California. This enojagement both he 
and Captain Gillespie had entered into from patriotic motives and 
to render the most efficient service to the country. 

He visited California originally upon topographical, and not on 
military duty. His volunteering under Stockton on special service 
was a patriotic impulse, in complying with which the government 
were in honour bound to sustain liim. He, therefore, very properly 
refused to violate his agreement with Stockton and unite with 
Kearney against him. 

Having failed to compel Fremont to acknowledge his authority, 
the General addressed himself to the Commodore and demanded 
that he should abdicate the command-in-chief. 

The Commodore, considering the subjugation of California com- 
plete, and that no further hostilities were likely to take place, was 
of opinion that he might now relinquish his governorship and com- 
mand-in-chief and return to his ships. But, having informed the 
Government that upon that event he intended to appoint Colonel 
Fremont governor, he now proceeded to carry that design into 
execution. General Kearney, learning this to be the purpose of 
the Commodore, and desirous of exercising the functions of governor 
himself, addressed to him the following letter, which, with the en- 



* See Appendix A, B, D. 



CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN KEARNEY AND STOCKTON. 131 

suing correspondence, will apprise the reader of the true relations 
of the parties better than we could state them. 

"Head-Quarters, Armt of the West, 
CiCDAD DE LOS Angeles, January 16, 1847. 

" Sir : — I am informed that you are now engaged in organizing a 
civil government and appointing officers for it in this territory. 
As this duty has been specially assigned to myself, by orders of the 
President of the United States, conveyed in letters to me from the 
Secretary of War, of June 3, 8, and 18, 1846, the original of 
which I gave to you on the 12th, and which you returned to me on 
the 13th, and copies of which I furnished you with on the 26th 
December, I have to ask if you have any authority from the 
President, from the Secretary of the Navy, or from any other 
channel of the President, to form such government and make such 
appointments. 

" If you have such authority, and will show it to me or furnish 
me with a certified copy of it, I will cheerfully acquiesce in what 
you are doing. If you have not such authority, I then demand 
that you cease all further proceedings relating to the formation of 
a civil government for this territory, as I cannot recognise in you 
any right in assuming to perform duties confided to me by the 
President. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
"S. W. Kearney, 
^^ Brigadier- Creneral United States Army. 
" Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

ii Acting Crovernor of California." 



" Head-Quarters, Ciudad de los ANaBLBS, 
January 16, 1847. 

« Sir : — In answer to your note received this afternoon, I need 
say but little more than that which I communicated to you in a con- 
versation at San Diego : — that California was conquered, and a civil 
government put into successful operation ; that a copy of the laws 
made by me for the government of the territory, and the names of 
the officers selected to see them faithfully executed, were transmitted 
to the President of the United States before you arrived in the 
territory. 

" I will only add, that I cannot do any thing nor desist from doing 
any thing on your demand, which I will submit to the President and 



152 COUIIESPONDENCE BETWEEN KEARNEY AND STOCKTON. 

ask for your recall. In the mean time you will consider yourself 
suspended from the command of the United States forces in this 
place. 

" Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

<R. F. Stockton, 
" Commau'ler-in-CJiief. 
"To Brevet Brigadier-General, S. W. Kearney." 

" Head-Quarters, Army of the West, 
CiUDAD DE LOS AxGELES, January 17, 1847. 

" Sir : — In my communication to you of yesterday's date I stated 
that I had learned that you were engaged in organizing a civil 
government for California. I referred you to the President's in- 
structions to me (the original of which you have seen, and copies 
of which I furnished you) to perform that duty, and I added that 
if you had any authority from the President, or any of his organs, 
for what you were doing, I would cheerfully acquiesce, and, if you 
had not such authority, I demanded that you would cease further 
proceedings in the matter. 

" Your reply of the same date refers me to a conversation held at 
San Diego, and adds that you ' cannot do any thing or desist from 
doing any thing or alter any thing on your (my) demand.' As, in 
consequence of the defeat of the enemy on the 8th and 9th instants, 
by the troops under my commayid,* and the capitulation entered 
into on the 13th instant by Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont with the 
leaders of the Californians, in which the people under arms and in 
the field agree to disperse and remain quiet and peaceable, the 
country may now, for the first time, be considered as conquered 
and taken possession of by us ; and, as I am prepared to carry out 
the President's instructions to me, which you oppose, I must, for 
the purpose of preventing a collision between us and possibly a 
civil war in consequence of it, remain silent for the present, leaving 
with you the great responsibility of doing that for which you have 
no authority, and preventing me from complying with the Pre- 
sident's orders. 

"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" S. W. Kearney, 
^^Brigadier-General U. S. A. 
« Commodore R. F. Stockton, U. S. N., 

i'' Acting Crovernor of California." 

* See Appendix I). 



CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN STOCKTON AND KEARNEY. 153 

"Head-Quarters, Army of the West, 
CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, January 17, 1847. 
« Sir : — I have to inform you that I intend to withdraw to-morrow 
from this place, with the small party which escorted me to this country. 
<' Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" S. W. Kearney, 

<' Brigadier-Greneral. 
" Commodore R. F. Stockton, U. S. N., 
^^ Acting Governor of California." 

"CiuDAD DE LOS Anoeles, January 17, 1847. 

" Sir : — I have the honour to be in receipt of your favour of last 
night, in which I am directed to suspend the execution of orders 
which, in my capacity of military commandant of this territory, I 
had received from Commodore Stockton, Governor and Commander- 
in-chief in California. I avail myself of an early hour this morning 
to make such a reply as the brief time allowed for reflection will 
enable me. 

"I found Commodore Stockton in possession of the country, exer- 
cising the functions of military commandant and civil governor, as 
early as July of last year ; and shortly thereafter I received from 
him the commission of military commandant, the duties of which I 
immediately entered upon and have continued to exercise to the 
present moment. 

" I found, also, on my arrival at this place some three or four days 
since. Commodore Stockton still exercising the functions of civil 
and military governor, with the same apparent deference to his 
rank on the part of all officers (including yourself) as he maintained 
and required when he assumed them in July last. 

" I learned, also, in conversation with you, that on the march from 
San Diego, recently, to this place, you entered upon and discharged 
duties implying an acknowledgment, on your part, of supremacy to 
Commodore Stockton. 

"I feel, therefore, with great deference to your professional and 
personal character, constrained to say that, until you and Commo- 
dore Stockton adjust, between yourselves, the question of rank, 
where I respectfully think the difficulty belongs, I shall have to re- 
port and receive orders, as heretofore, from the Commodore. 

"With considerations of high regard, I am, sir, your obedient 
servant, 

"J. C. Fremont, Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Army, and 
Military Commandant of the Territory of California. 
"Brigadier-General S. W. Kearney, U. S. Army." 



154 Stockton's course commended by government. 

In pursuance of liis original intentions as communicated to the 
Government in August, 1846, Commodore Stockton now. appointed 
Colonel Fremont Civil Governor of California, and Colonel William 
H. Russell, Secretary. Governor Fremont immediately entered on 
the duties of his office, and the people acquiesced in his exercise 
of authority. 

The Commodore and his maritime army returned to the squadron. 

The performance of his duties as Governor of California by 
Colonel Fremont were incompatible with the authority which General 
Kearney attempted to exercise over him by virtue of seniority of 
rank. Notwithstanding the President and Secretary of War both 
justified the appointment of Colonel Fremont by Commodore Stock- 
ton as Civil Governor of California, yet, nevertheless, he was per- 
mitted to be brought to trial on charges of disobedience preferred 
by General Kearney. He was found guilty on several charges and 
specifications by a court evidently disposed to favour General Kear- 
ney. The finding of the court was approved in part by the Presi- 
dent, but the sentence remitted. 

Indignant with the injustice and inconsistency manifested by the 
Government, 'Colonel Fremont promptly resigned his commission in 
the army. 

Towards the close of the Mexican war, the army was powerful 
and popular at Washington. The esprit de corps of military gen- 
tlemen was piqued and offended with Fremont's deference to a naval 
commander, and his sacrifice was demanded. The President and 
Secretary of War had not the moral courage and firmness which 
the occasion required, and Colonel Fremont was driven from the 
army. 

The Government received intelligence of the success of Commo- 
dore Stockton in California in October, 1 846, and were well pleased 
with the prospect of the realization of their views respecting that 
country. 

The President, in his annual message of December, 1846, ap- 
proved and justified the proceedings of the Commodore in the most 
comprehensive terms. He says : — 

" Our squadron in the Pacific, with the co-operation of a gallant 
officer of the army and a small force hastily collected in that distant 
country, have acquired bloodless possession of the Californias, and 
the American flag has been raised at every important point in that 
province. I congratulate you on the success which has thus at- 
tended our military and naval operations. 

"By the laws of nations, a conquered territory is subject to be 



EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. 155 

governed by the conqueror during liis military possession and until 
there is either a treaty of peace or he shall voluntarily withdraw 
from it. The old civil government being necessarily superseded, it 
is the right and duty of the conqueror to secure his conquest and 
to provide for the maintenance of civil order and the rights of the 
inhabitants. This right has been exercised and this duty performed 
by the establishment of temporary governments in some of the con- 
quered provinces of Mexico, assimilating them, as far as practicable, 
to the free institutions of our own country." 

The Secretary of War, in his annual report of the same year, 
(1846,) thus speaks of the events in California : — 

" Commodore Stockton took possession of the whole country as 
a conquest of the United States, and appointed Colonel Fremont 
governor, under the laiv of 7iations, to assume the functions of that 
office when he should return to the squadron." 



Extract from a letter of the Secretary of the JVavy to Commodore 
R. F. Stockton, dated November 5, 1846.* 

"The difficulties and embarrassments of the command, without a 
knowledge of the proceedings of Congress on the subject of the 
war with Mexico, and in the absence of the instructions of the 
department which followed those proceedings, are justly appre- 
ciated, and it is highly gratifying that so much has been done in 
anticipation of the orders which have been transmitted." 

Extract from a letter of the Secretary of the Navy to the com- 
manding officer of the Pacific squadron, June 14, 1847. 

"At the commencement of the war with Mexico, the United 
States had no military force in California of any description what- 
ever, and the conquest of that country was, from necessity, there- 
fore devolved exclusively upon the navy."t 



Extract from Annual Report of 1848 of the Secretary of the Navy, 
in Ex. Doc. No. 1. 

" In the Pacific, our squadron, with means not fitted for inland 
operations, acting independently and in co-operation with a small 

* Proceedings of Court-martial, p. 51. 
•j- Proceedings of Court-martial, p. 367. 



156 UNOFFIC^^ LKTTErx FllOM MR. MASOX. 

portion of our gallant army, effected the conquest of California. 
In supplying the deficiency of his means, and in preparing for and 
executing an inland campaign with the crews of his ships, Commo- 
dore Stockton displayed the highest military resource and the 
greatest energy. Since his memorable march from San Diego to 
the Ciudad de los Angeles, and the battles of the 8th and 9th of 
January, 1847, that country has been tranquil, our possession undis- 
puted, and its inhabitants have bailed the cession of California to 
the United States with grateful satisfaction." 

An unofficial letter from the Secretary of the Navy to Commodore 

R. F. Stockton. 

" [unofficial.] Washington, March 7, 1849. 

" My dear Sir : — I enclose you a copy of a general order an- 
nouncing to the navy the thanks of Congress for the zeal and 
ability with which its duty was performed during the late war with 
Mexico. 

" My connection with the Navy Department for all exercise of 
official power has ceased, and I may gratify my own personal feel- 
ings by renewing to you in this note what I have said and intended 
to convey in my official reports, — my high estimate of your zeal, 
energy, and gallantry, in the performance of your duties in the 
great service which resulted in the acquisition of California. Your 
energy and military resource in supplying your deficiency of means, 
the courage and skill with which you conducted your well-planned 
operations, the success with which you imparted your own enthu- 
siasm to those whom you commanded, entitle you to the highest 
praise ; and the results of your brilliant achievements have added 
largely to the national strength and to the national honour. 

" With such convictions on my mind, I cannot take leave of you 
without saying thus much, and to express the hope that I shall ever 
have the happiness of cultivating with you personally the relations 
of friendship. 

" With the highest esteem, 

" I am very truly yours, 

"J. Y. Mason. 
"Commodore R. F. Stockton, U. S. Navy."* 

* See Extract from Cooper's Naval History, in the Appendix ; also Commodore 
Stockton's OflBcial Correspondence, Appendix A. See also Proceedings of Court- 
martial on Colonel Fremont, and Senator Benton's speech, July, 1848, Congressional 
Globe, Appendix, 1848. 



STOCKTON S ABSTINENCE FROM SPECULATION. 157 



CHAPTER XII. 

COMMODOEB STOCKTON'S ABSTINENCE FKOM SPECULATION 'WHIZE IN CALIFORNIA — 
ESTABLISHES THE FIRST PRINTING-PRESS AND THE FIRST FREE-SCHOOL IN CALI- 
FORNIA — REV. WALTER COLTON's LETTER DRAWS ON WASHINGTON ON HIS OWN 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUNDS TO PAY EXPENSES OF THE WAR PREPARES FOR 

OVERLAND JOURNEY DESCRIPTION OF HIS PARTY ATTACKED BY INDIANS 

WOUNDED PUNISHMENT OF THE ENEMY EXTRICATES HIS MEN FROM AMBUS- 
CADE BUFFALO HUNT ARRIVES AT ST. JOSEPH RECEPTION PARTING WITH 

HIS MEN ARRIVES AT WASHINGTON. 

From the abdication by Commodore Stockton of the supreme 
command to the period at which the war was closed by the treaty of 
Guadaloupe Hidalgo, no further resistance was offered on the part 
of the inhabitants of California to the authority of the United 
States. 

It is well known that, immediately subsequent to this event, 
extensive speculations in lands were made by many Americans, 
which subsequently proved of immense value. Commodore Stock- 
ton saw and appreciated as well as others the certain improvement 
in value of property in California, and particularly at San Francisco. 
Opportunities were offered him of investments in property there 
which would have made him, had he embraced them, the most opu- 
lent man on the continent. But, occupying a public position which 
gave him the greatest facilities for speculation, he considered it his 
duty to abstain from all complicity in such pecuniary operations. 
It was his ambition rather to bestow benefits on California than to 
receive them from her. 

A printing-press having been procured at San Francisco, Com- 
modore Stockton, from his own purse, provided the means for 
establishing a newspaper there, which he gave in charge of the Rev. 
Walter Colton, chaplain of the Congress. The following letter of 
Mr. Colton, which appeared in a contemporary paper, in relation to 
this subject, is too interesting to be omitted here. 

"Magistrate's Office, Monterey, June 4, 1847. 
"Dear Sir: — The generous policy which you have pursued to- 
wards this ofl&ce makes me regret that I have put you to the trouble 



lo8 ESTABLISHES FIRST PRINTING-PRESS IN CALIFORNIA. 

to send the chairs from the ship, and am grateful for them, hut did 
not consider that wc had any claim, considering how much you have 
done. 

"To you California is indebted for her first press and her first 
school-house. This may not be known generally now, but it will if 
I live. It is something to conquer a country ; it is also something 
to provide for the progressive intelligence of its inhabitants; but it 
is rarely that, as in the present instance, the honour of both apper- 
tains to the same individual. 

« These facts may seem shaded to some, but truth will vindicate 
itself, and every thing will stand out in its own distinct, impressive 
light. 

<<I have taken notes of all that has occurred in California since 
our arrival here. I commenced with your repudiation of the Bear 
flag, and have continued the history of events up to your second 
capture of the Pueblo; and now I will state what no one knows but 
myself, — that the facts contained in Mr. Speiden's graphic descrip- 
tion of the march from San Diego* and the battles of the 8th and 
9th are in my journal just as I recorded them the day after the 
letter was received. I mention this merely to vindicate my feelings 
on the occasion, and these are feelings which remain unchanged. 
" I am, dear sir, very faithfully yours, 

"Walter Colton. 
« Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

" United States Frigate Congress.*' 

Upon the first organization of a civil government in California, 
Commodore Stockton ordained that the proceeds of the confiscation 
of enemy's property, or of property which escheated to the existing 
government for the want of an owner, should be appropriated 
to the construction of school-hopses and for the employment of 
teachers and the support of a free school. The first school-house 
was built at San Francisco, and the first free-school organized and 
put in operation by the funds thus appropriated by Stockton. 

In the latter part of January, Commodore Shubrick arrived, and, 
soon after, Commodore Biddle, both of . whom being seniors to 
Commodore Stockton, superseded him in command of the squadron. 

In May the Commodore formed the determination of returning 
home across the Rocky Mountains. lie was delayed somewhat by 
the detention of Major Gillespie, upon whose co-operation in making 

* See Appendix D. 



PREPARES TO RETURN HOME. 159 

the necessary preparations for the overland journey he had 
relied.* 

Before leaving, Stockton determined that all the debts which he 
had contracted for the purchase of horses, or by the appropriation 
of other property of the emigrants and settlers, on account of 
government, should be liquidated. He applied to Commodore BidJle 
to approve his drafts on the government for that purpose ; but 
Biddle declined to take the responsibility. Commodore Stockton, 
on his own authority, drew on the proper offices at Washington 
drafts sufficient in amount to pay all those demands which he felt 
bound in honour to satisfy. The drafts were all duly honoured. 

Having collected the required number of mules and horses, and 
his men having made their saddles, his returning band, numbering 
forty-nine, commenced their journey June 20, 1847. 

His men were a heterogeneous collection of all nations almost, 
and professions and pursuits : some were Canadians ; some Rocky 
Mountain trappers and hunters ; some sailors ; some Spaniards ; 
some Irishmen ; some French. Many of them were men of the 
most desperate and lawless character, and noted for their sanguinary 
and ferocious habits and actions. Among them, however, he was 
so fortunate as to secure the services of three men as guides, who 
had passed the greater part of their lives as hunters among the 
Rocky Mountain Indians, and were acquainted with their dialects, 
and therefore qualified to act as interpreters. 

Stockton immediately appreciated the necessity of holding such 
men in the most rigorous subordination. On the outset of their 
journey, therefore, he informed them that, considering the safety 
of the whole party as at stake upon the implicit obedience of each 
one, the death-penalty would be the award of any act of mutiny or 
any refusal to obey his orders ; that the exhibition of cowardice in 
presence of the enemy, whom they would be sure to meet on their 
way, would likewise be punished with death ; that he would ask no 
one to encounter any danger which he was not himself the first and 
foremost to brave. 

After some days' progress, they began to perceive evidence of 
their being watched and dogged by Indians ; and, upon his men 
attempting to camp for the night among the bushes and trees, he 
compelled them, very much against their inclination, to sleep in the 
open plain, where the guard could see the approach of an enemy 
before he could come in contact with them. He, however, particu- 

* See Proceedings of Court-martial, Gillespie's testimony. 



IGO OnDERS RELATIVE TO THE INDIANS. 

larly cautioned his men that on no account sliould tliey shoot an 
Indian. The old Indian-fighters and mountaineers opened their 
eyes with incredulous astonishment at such instructions, and endea- 
voured to reason with the Commodore on the absolute necessity of 
shooting Indians in order to prevent being shot themselves ; but 
he was inflexible. He said human nature was the same among all 
nations and races ; that, if the Indians were treated well, they 
•would appreciate kindness and abstain from hostilities ; that 
they were a poor, abused race, who had been driven to outrage 
and revenge by innumerable injuries ; and that for his part he 
would not, except in self-defence, consent to take an Indian's life. 
The old trappers and hunters told him that he did not know the 
Indians. They subsisted by plunder and murder, and nothing but 
fear would restrain them. Those of the party most familiar with 
the habits of the Indians who roved along the route which the tra- 
vellers pursued, consoled themselves with the expression of the opi- 
nion that, whatever the Commodore's views respecting the Indians 
might then be, he would soon, from necessity, be compelled to 
change them. 

It sometimes happens to parties taking the overland route to or 
from California that they meet no Indians ; others meet occa- 
sionally small straggling companies of them ; while others, still, 
meet numerous bands, and are compelled to fight almost their whole 
journey through. 

General Kearney and his party, though travelling nearly on the 
line of Stockton's return-route, met scarcely any Indians ; while, 
during the whole journey of the Commodore, his party were almost 
constantly in the presence of Indians more or less numerous. One 
of the oldest among the Rocky Mountain hunters in the party said 
that, as often as he had travelled the route, he had never before 
seen so many Indians or found them so troublesome and dangerous. 

The party were frequently surrounded by bands of Indians im- 
mensely superior, and often placed in the utmost jeopardy. From 
this peril they were several times rescued by the presence of mind, 
courage, and sagacity, of Stockton. 

They had advanced but a few days' journey when the Indians 
began to appear, dogging their progress and hovering in the 
vicinity to cut oflF stragglers or seize upon some property belonging 
to the party, — a stray horse or mule, or something of the sort. As 
the day wore away, the Indians were observed to become more 
numerous. The larger part of the company had preceded, on this 
occasion, the Commodore; and as he overtook them near night, he 



NIGHT-ATTACK. 161 

found them encamped by the side of a river in a valley, instead of 
pitching their tents on an eminence, as he generally directed. He 
•would have made them remove their camp, had it not been that one 
of the men had been suddenly taken sick and was too ill to be 
removed. He told them, however, that they must be vigilant, as 
they would probably be attacked that night as soon as the moon 
rose. 

It turned out as he had predicted. As soon as the moon poured 
her light upon their camp, a volley of arrows informed them of the 
presence .of a pretty large party of Indians. He made his men 
shoot over the heads of the Indians, and enjoined them not to kill 
them, saying that in the morning he would endeavour to treat with 
them. 

In the morning, however, as they were just sitting down to 
breakfast, another flight of arrows poured into the camp, one of 
which struck the Commodore, passing through the fleshy part of 
one thigh and nearly through the other. Immediately as he was 
struck he broke the arrow in two and pulled both pieces out. 
Having been informed that these Indians frequently poisoned their 
arrows, he sent for one of the old trappers, a man who had lived 
twenty years among the Indians and had a Crow squaw for his wife,, 
and asked him if he supposed the arrow to be poisoned, the pieces of 
which he showed him. The old trapper, looking him fiercely in the 
eye, said, "Yes ! by G — d ! and you have not half an hour to live !" 
The Commodore, who well knew that the only way to retain his 
command over his men was by the exhibition of the most desperate 
fearlessness and rigour, supposing that the lawless and reckless old 
fellow wanted to frighten him, said instantly, " You old liar ! do 
you suppose you can frighten me ? If you had said I might die 
in a few days or a week, I might have thought you believed what 
you said. Begone out of my sight, before I blow out your brains !" 
And ofi" he went, as fast as he could run. 

If the arrow was poisoned, its immediate extraction and the con- 
sequent flow of blood, doubtless, prevented the poisonous matter 
from being dissolved and absorbed, or perhaps washed it out. N' 
serious injury followed, and the wound soon healed, without inter 
rupting the progress of the party. 

But the wound dissipated the Commodore's sublimated feelings 
of forbearance towards the Indians. He became a convert to tho 
lessons taught by the experience of his hunters and trappers, and 
at once took steps to chastise the foe. Being detained by the sick 
man, he felt assured that they would be attacked the following 

11 



162 CUASTISEp THE SAVAGES. 

night by an increased force; he determined to have the first shot, 
and to inflict such a punishment on the enemy as would be remem- 
bered by them. 

The Indians, he had observed, retreated across the river, and 
would have to recross it to renew their attack. He discovered the 
ford at which they passed the river about half a mile from the 
camp. There he repaired just before the moon rose, and placed his 
men in the bushes, with directions not to fire without good aim and 
not until the Indians were crossing the ford. As soon as the moon 
showed herself over the hills, the stealthy pace of the Indians was 
heard along the shore. They stepped into the river in single file, 
and when about fifty of them were half-way over, the simultaneous 
crack of a score of rifles stopped their progress. They raised a 
fearful yell, and fled, scattering in every direction. How many were 
killed could not be ascertained ; but this chastisement prevented 
their renewing their attack on the following day, and the travellers 
were not again seriously threatened by the same Indians. 

On another occasion, having been without water for some time, 
and suffering for the want of it, they fell in with some Indians who 
engaged to conduct them to a stream. As they advanced, the 
Indians appeared in greater numbers ; but, as they were friendly 
and seemed to be acting in good faith, the Commodore intrusted 
himself to their guidance, until his suspicions were excited by their 
leading him oflf the open plain into a dense thicket of underwood. 
Observing their movements, he at last became satisfied that they were 
leading him into an ambush. 

As soon as he was convinced of this, he suddenly halted ; and, 
through an interpreter, told them he had an important communica- 
tion to their chiefs and head-men, and desired to have a talk with 
them. The chiefs, to the number of fifteen or twenty, soon came 
forward. lie made them sit dow^n, and then surrounded them with 
his men, so as to keep the crowd of Indians from pressing upon 
them. lie then told the chiefs that his party was a war-party 
returning after a great fight in California, where they had killed 
many, and achieved the most terrible exploits ; that he was afraid 
the presence of the young warriors might excite their love of blood, 
and induce them to kill the Indians ; and that, therefore, he wished 
the young warriors to keep away, and not come in contact with the 
war-party of white men ; and, if the chiefs would so advise their 
young warriors, he would give them plenty of tobacco, and a horse 
upon which they might feast. The chiefs readily assented to the 
proposition. But before making the presents the Commodore re- 



EXTEICATES HIMSELF FROM A DANGEROUS POSITION. 163 

quired the chiefs to conduct him out on the open plain. He then 
ordered each chief to take a horse, on which one of the party was 
mounted, hy the bridle, and lead hito out. He ordered also two men 
to keep watch with their drawn pistols on each chief, and to shoot 
the first one who should attempt to break away. Thus marshalled, 
they were conducted safely out of the dangerous trap into which 
they had been led, upon the open plain. After they had reached 
the plain, the Commodore selected a horse for the feast, and gave it 
to the outside Indians, who were now crowding around him in num- 
bers four or five times greater than his band, and told them to take 
it off and slaughter it for themselves and the chiefs who would soon 
follow them. They took the horse and soon disappeared with him 
over the undulations of the plain. 

As soon as they were out of sight, the Commodore ordered the 
chiefs to take hold of the horses' heads again, and, giving his men the 
same charge as in the first instance, he started off on a trot in an 
opposite direction to that in which the rest of the Indians had gone. 
It was now late in the afternoon. He kept up the trot, with the chiefs 
at the horses' heads, for several miles, till he was satisfied that it 
would be impossible that the Indians whom they had left could over- 
take them. He then dismissed the chiefs, who were glad to be relieved 
from their arduous duties, and at once hastened ofi" at a full run to rejoin 
their people before the feast was over. It is obvious that the whole 
party were saved from massacre b}^ the presence of mind and sagacity 
of their leader. The fertility of his mind in resources to meet all 
difiiculties, however novel or sudden, is indicated by this incident. 

The Commodore acted as commissary as well as commander of the 
party, and throughout the whole journey kept them supplied with an 
abundance of game. Though he had never before seen a buffalo on 
his native plains, he proved himself as expert in the chase of that 
formidable animal as the oldest hunter, if, indeed, he did not excel 
him ; for several said they never had seen any bolder or more suc- 
cessful sportsman in pursuit of buffalo. He killed forty-five with 
his own hand during the journey. 

Before they had come to the buffalo country, several of the party, 
who considered themselves hunters of unrivalled merit, frequently 
descanted upon the pleasures of chasing buffalo, and promised the 
Commodore to initiate him in the science of the sport. He admitted 
his ignorance, and signified his willingness to be taught. 

It was a bright and cloudless morning, when, on rising from theii 
blankets one day, they saw, far as the scope of vision extended, in 
every direction, the whole, surface of the earth — to the distant 



164 LM^ALO HUNT. 

horizon — covered witli countless thousands of bulTalo. Soon tlie 
hunters were mounted on their best horses and prepared for the 
exciting pursuit. The first business was to make a circuit, and get 
to leeward of the animals, so that they could not scent the ap- 
proach of the party. Having done this, they then proposed dis- 
mounting and crawling near enough to obtain a deadly shot with 
their rifles. The Commodore, however, demurred to this ignoble 
way of approaching such game. He ordered them to dismount and 
tighten the girths of their saddles, and then told them that he might 
be depended upon for two buffalo cows, and charged each of the 
party to secure at least one. Then, putting spurs to his horse, (the 
same which he rode through the whole of his California campaign.) 
he charged the herd at full gallop. 

The chase of the buffalo pursued in this way is, perhaps, the 
most exciting and dangerous of all field-sports, not, perhaps, ex- 
cepting that of lions or tigers in India and Africa. The horse 
rushes into the drove, and soon partakes of the alarm and terror 
with which he inspires the buffiilo. A cloud of dust rises, obscuring 
all objects except those close at hand. The buffalo bulls roar ; the 
earth trembles sensibly beneath the hoofs of the multitudinous ani- 
mals as they rush headlong onwards. The rider's whole strength 
is required to hold and guide his horse and keep the saddle, — stand- 
ing erect in his stirrups, — the horse springing from one side to the 
other to avoid contact with the buffalo, and, snorting and plunging, 
requires a skilful and powerful hand to direct him. Thus, bounding 
on, the hunter singles out the animal which he prefers, and rides 
with it side-by-side till a favourable opportunity occurs for a suc- 
cessful shot. As soon as this is had, his next effort is to extricate 
himself from the herd. This he does by gradually dropping in the 
rear, and, when a favourable opening is observed through the drove 
to the right or left, guiding his horse out of the line of direction in 
which the buffalo are travelling. But, should the hunter unfortu- 
nately be thrown from his horse, the danger is imminent that the 
buffalo will trample him down. 

The hunt which we have described was the first buffalo hunt in 
which the Commodore engaged. He soon killed his two cows, and, 
after getting out of the drove, ascended a hill and blew his horn. 
But it was long before any of the party were visible. After a 
while they all came in, and all claimed to have shot a buffalo ; but 
no buffalo could be found but the two killed by the Commodore 
with his pistols. The old hunters told him that it was not neces- 
sary for them to give him any more instructions. 



ADVENTURE WITH A BUFFALO BULL. 165 

The buffalo are not generally dangerous, unless the hunter falls 
or loses his horse in the drove, or unless, when wounded, the beast 
stands at bay. In the latter case the animal becomes furious and 
rushes on his enemy. Then wo to the daring hunter whose rifle is 
unloaded or whose horse fails him ! He is tossed on the horns of 
his foe and trampled to death. 

On one occasion the Commodore had singled out a powerful bull 
which he had determined to kill, if possible, for the sake of his 
hide. He had discharged his rifle at him without fatal effect. The 
bull took refuge in a grove or thicket, and the Commodore dashed 
into the grove close upon his heels. But suddenly, as soon as he 
entered the grove, the buffalo wheeled and stood at bay, with his 
tail coiled over his back, pawing the ground, bellowing, and his 
eyes like balls of fire, his head lowered, prepared to rush forward 
upon his enemy. The horse directly, as he saw the buffalo, sprang 
aside. The Commodore remembered to have heard the hunters say 
that it was vain to shoot at a buffalo bull's forehead, as the ball 
could not penetrate his skull. But he determined to make the ex- 
periment, and, levelling his pistol, fired. The horse bounded past 
the buffalo, and, as the Commodore reined him up to return and see 
the result of his experiment, he felt his face wet, and, wiping it 
with his hand, found the moisture to be blood. At first he thought 
the ball had rebounded and wounded him ; but after a while he dis- 
covered that, in shooting, his ball had passed through the ear of his 
horse, who, tossing and shaking his head, flung the blood in the 
Commodore's face. On coming up to the buffalo, he was found 
dead, the ball having entered his forehead, killing him instantly. 
Many other anecdotes are related by the companions of the Com- 
modore on this expedition, illustrating his boldness as a hunter and 
the keen relish with which he enjoyed the sport of pursuing buffalo. 

They say that he was often heard to remark that he never knew 
what was the true luxury of a repast until he sat by his camp-fire, 
after a hard day's ride, gnawing the rib of a buffalo. 

So captivated was he with the bold and romantic adventures 
afforded by this trip across the Rocky Mountains, that he was often 
heard to say, after his arrival at St. Joseph's, that, if he had no ties 
or duties to draw him homeward, nothing would afford him greater 
satisfaction than to turn back and make the trip over again. 

The Avhole party arrived in safety, early in November, at St. 
Joseph's, having performed the journey in a little more than four 
months. 

The people of St. Joseph's came across the river in crowds to 



166 TAKES LEAVE OF HIS BAND. 

greet the Commodore. lie was invited to a public dinner by the 
authorities of the place, which being compelled to decline, a public 
reception was given him and a complimentary address made to 
him. 

Here he was obliged to take leave of the greater part of his band. 
Their parting showed with how strong and sincere an attachment 
he had inspired the rough and unsophisticated hearts of his men. 
Tears coursed down the weather-worn cheeks of the bold and hardy 
mountaineers, when they took the last friendly grip of the Commo- 
dore's hand. They implored him, if he ever made another overland 
journey to or from California, to send for them ; and, no matter 
where they might be or how engaged, they would come at his bid- 
ding. Lawless, reckless, desperate, wicked, and callous, as many 
of them were, Stockton had found the tender spot in each man's 
heart and made a lodgment there. 

But their case was not singular. Whether on sea or shore, few 
men were ever commanded by Commodore Stockton who did not 
become enthusiastically devoted to him. Yet no commander ever 
exacted more complete submission to his authority. 

The Commodore on his way east through St. Louis, Louisville, 
Cincinnati, and other cities of the Great Valley, was urgently in- 
vited to remain long enough to receive some demonstrations of 
municipal hospitality in those cities. But the necessity for his 
rapid movement, in order to be present and testify at the court- 
martial then sitting at Washington, prevented his acceding to any 
of these friendly overtures. lie proceeded with all the despatch 
of which steamboats and railroads would admit, and arrived at 
Washington about the 1st of December, 1847. 

His testimony on the trial of Fremont was sustained and corrobo- 
rated generally, and in every particular, by every witness called on 
that trial. By the publication of the proceedings of that trial, the 
false statements* in relation to the California campaigns, which had 
appeared in the papers and in various other quarters, (the authors 
of which were screened from exposure by the court-martial which 
so unjustly convicted Colonel Fremont of insubordination,) were 
entirely exploded and discredited.f The chief merit of the con- 

* Proceedings of Court-martial, pp. 129-133. 

■)■ See the speech of Senator Benton, (in Appendix to Congressional Globe, 1848,) oa 
the brevet-nomination of General Kearney. Of all the senatorial efforts of this dis- 
tinguished statesman, none equal this speech. Indeed, for severe analysis, keen 
logic, powerful argument, and commanding eloquence, there is no specimen of 
forensic or parliamentary eloquence in the English language which surpasses it. 



ADVANTAGES OF THE ACQUISITION OF CALIFORNIA. 167 

quest of California is now universally conceded to belong to Stock- 
ton. History will forever bear record that its acquisition by the 
United States Avas the result of his masterly proceedings. 

Had California been wrested from us after the American flag had 
been first raised there by Commodore Sloat, — as she would have 
been but for Stockton, — Mexico would hardly have been willing to 
relinquish her at the Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. A treaty might 
have been made without the cession of California; or, if our Govern- 
ment would not have made peace without such a cession, the war 
might have been prolonged till the discovery of the gold-placers, 
■when Mexico would have sold California to Great Britain rather 
than have ceded her to the United States. The quiet and undis- 
turbed possession of California which Stockton acquired and 
secured for the United States, until negotiations for peace com- 
menced, must have aff'orded a powerful motive for our negotiators 
to demand the cession, while it gave to Mexico an excuse for the 
surrender of that valuable country. 

It is hardly within the scope of our object to enlarge upon the 
value and importance of the acquisition of California to the United 
States. But we cannot forbear expressing the opinion that, in the 
history of this republic, it will be considered secondary only to the 
acquisition of Louisiana in its influence upon the prosperity, gran- 
deur, and power of the republic. It will probably accelerate, by at 
least a quarter of a century, the period when the United States will 
become, in all the elements of national greatness, the commanding 
power of the globe. It must hasten the day when all of North 
America will be covered by that conquering race of Anglo-Saxon 
origin, in conflict with which every other race is compelled to suc- 
cumb. It is a little remarkable that the national gratitude has 
never been excited even to the just recognition of the services of 
the Conqueror of such an invaluable addition to the territory of the 
United States. 

There is hardly a county or a village in the United States whose 
citizens have not gone forth to the new El Dorado on the Pacific, 
and returned laden with its treasures. There is not a city on the 
coast, nor in the interior, whose commerce has not felt the stimulus 
afforded by the trade of California. There has not been a year 

Mr. Benton traces home to their origin all the base attempts to detract from tha 
merit of Commodore Stockton's proceedings in California. He literally overwhelms, 
with demonstration on demonstration in his favour, every question which has ever 
been raised in relation to his California services. His speech on this occasion is aa 
unanswerable and triumphant vindication of the truth of history. 



168 VALUE OF CALIFORNIA. 

since 1850 in which California gold has not protected the country 
from the most wide-spread and calamitous revulsion. But, notwith- 
standing all these results of the acquisition of California, there is 
hardly one citizen in a hundred who has that knowledge of the con- 
quest of California which would enable him to do justice to Stockton 
and his sailors. 

We have endeavoured to supply that deficiency of information 
which prevails in relation to this subject. We have done so from the 
most authentic sources; and, the more completely and thoroughly 
investigation may be prosecuted into those sources, the more will 
the correctness and truth of this narrative be vindicated. 



KECEPTION OF STOCKTON BY HIS FRIENDS. 169 



CHAPTER XIII. 

KECEPTION OF COMMODORE STOCKTON BY HIS FRIENDS COMPLIMBNTART DINNER AT 

PHILADELPHIA — RECEPTION BY THE LEGISLATURE OF NEW JERSEY — RESIGNATION 

OF COMMISSION — STATE OF PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES LETTER TO MR. 

WEBSTER ON SLAVERY DECLINES AN ELECTION TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED 

STATES HIS ELECTION. • 

The reception of Commodore Stockton by his friends in New 
Jersey was cordial, and manifested by various demonstrations. The 
fame of his exploits had preceded him, and excited the utmost 
curiosity for an account of the particulars of his extraordinary 
career in California. 

The people of his native village, Princeton, assembled in public 
meeting and adopted a series of resolutions expressive of their ad- 
miration of his patriotic services, awarding him the tribute of their 
thanks for the honour which his achievements reflected on his native 
State. His friends, from various parts of the State, crowded round 
him to express their gratification at his safe return and welcome 
him home. 

Soon after his arrival at Philadelphia a public meeting was called, 
and the Commodore was invited to a banquet given in testimony of 
the estimation in which his services were held by his fellow-citizens. 
The call was subscribed by the principal merchants and professional 
gentlemen of the city. 

We insert from the North American Gazette a full report of the 
proceedings of this festival, which took place December 31, 1847 : — 

From the North American Gazette. 

Some six or seven hundred gentlemen assembled yesterday evening 
at the Musical Fund Hall around a board occupying the whole of 
that large saloon and furnished with all the luxuriousness, elegance, 
and taste for which Messrs. Bagley, McKenzie & Co. of the Colum- 
bia House have made themselves so celebrated. We have never 
seen so large a company seated in such admirable order and with 
so little confusion and noise. 

The organization took place by the appointment of Hon. John 



170 COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AT PHILADELPHIA. 

Swift as ohniinian, assisted by Vice-Presidents Henry D. Gilpin, 
Josiah Randall, John M. Read, Henry L. Benner, Mayor Belster- 
ling, and "William G. Alexander. Among the distinguished gen- 
tlemen present as guests, we noticed Senators Downs, of Louisiana, 
Hon. D. D. Thurston, of Rhode Island, Hon. R. J. Thomas, of Ten- 
nessee, Hon. Mr. Morse and Hon, Mr. Gibson, of Louisiana, Judges 
Burnside and Bell, V. S. Macauley, United States Consul to Tripoli, 
Hon. L. C. Levin, Hon. M. Hampton, Hon. L. B. Chase, &c. &c. 

After due honour had been done to the good things so bountifully 
provided, the chairman rose and announced the regular toasts, as 
follows : — 

1. The President of the United States. 

2. The Vice-President of the United States. 

3. The Governor of the State of Pennsylvania. 

4. Our country — may she ever be right ! but, right or wrong, 
our country. 

The chairman then said — "Fellow-citizens, preparatory to offering 
you the next toast in succession, I will take leave to address a few 
remarks to this assemblage, and I know in no better way how to 
begin than in referring to the antecedent toast — 'Our country, 
right or wrong.' (Great applause.) We are involved in a foreign 
war. There are differences of opinion among us in relation to 
the causes of the war ; but God forbid that there should be any 
difference as to the mode in which the war should be carried on. 
(Great applause.) There is a great consolation growing out of the 
prospect for this country — growing out of the war, — the moral effect 
that will be produced by our many victories, not over unfortunate, 
miserable Mexico, but the whole world, (applause,) from the Auto- 
crat of all the Russias to the lowest duke on the Rhine. They will 
hereafter ponder well all matters that might have any tendency to 
open controversy with the United States. (Loud applause.) We 
have shown that we are a nation prepared not only to meet, but to 
conquer, every foe. They will hereafter look, as they look now, at 
Palo Alto ; at Resaca de la Palma ; at Matamoras ; at Monterey ; 
at Buena Vista ! (Tremendous applause.) Then they will look at 
Vera Cruz, at Cerro Gordo, at Puebla, at Churubusco, at Chapul- 
tepec, and at Mexico itself. (Renewed applause.) And then they 
will go to the Pacific. (Tremendous cheering.) They will find 
recorded upon the pages of history, at the first-mentioned places, 
the names of Taylor and of Worth. And then, as they go towards 
Vera Cruz, they find a Scott, a Shields, a Quitman, a Smith, a Cad- 
wallader, and other worthies that I cannot now take time to enumerate. 



COMPLIMENTAKY DINNER AT PHILADELPHIA. 171 

Next they will go to California, and at Los Angeles they will find a 
Stockton ! (Enthusiastic and long-continued cheering.) 

" Were it now my task to eulogize the memory of some distin- 
guished man, I might narrate his bright achievements — I might 
dwell upon the story of his fair renown — I might enter into details 
and refresh the recollections of those who were his compatriots, and 
the narrative of his deeds and his prowess — I might enchain the atten- 
tion of ingenuous youth by relating those deeds of chivalry and 
prowess, holding up to them the example as a fit model of their 
imitation. But I am now speaking of one who, thank God, is now 
in the midst of us, blessed with health and strength. I have known 
him for my whole life, and could readily narrate instances of his 
prowess, his chivalry, and his valour, but I will not. I cannot 
offend the modest ears of one so good and brave. (Great cheering.) 
His reputation and character and deeds belong to his country. His- 
tory will record them, and posterity will recognise in him the 
genuine American patriot. They will bless God that theirs is the 
privilege and the honour of owning the same land that gave him 
birth as the place of their nativity. (Great cheering.) 

" Mr. Vice-President, I give you ' Commodore R. F. Stockton, 
as distinguished for his civil acquirements as he is for his military 
renown ; equally at home, whether on land or sea, when called upon 
to meet the enemies of his country, the soldier and the sailor ; a 
man who never turned his back on friend or foe.' " 

This toast was received with indescribable enthusiasm. The 
whole of the vast assemblage started simultaneously to their feet 
and burst into deafening and long-continued cheering. 

When the applause had at last subsided. Commodore Stockton 
rose to make his acknowledgments. He was greeted with long- 
continued applause. He said, — 

« Gentlemen — Friends : — How can I have deserved, how can I 
return, such kindness ? How can I suitably express my sense of 
the honour which has this day been conferred upon me ? In what 
fitting phrase or figure of speech shall I give expression to the feel- 
ings with which I am now oppressed ? Words seem so feeble when 
summoned to express the emotions of the human heart excited by 
a deep sense of gratitude, that I can hardly make the efi"ort to con- 
vey to you my sense of the kindness of this reception. (Renewed 
applause.) 

"Returning, after a lengthened absence from this country, I 
might, perhaps, without presumption, have expected that my per- 
sonal friends, to whom I was best known, would appreciate my poor, 



172 COMPLIMENTARY PINNER AT PUILADELPHIA. 

but at all events well-intentioned, eflforts in the cause of my coun- 
try ; and that here and there I might have met a friendly greeting, 
with instances of personal friendship and hospitality. But when I 
look around me now, — when I see the old and the young, the citizen 
and the soldier, the patriot and the scholar, assembled here to do 
me honour, — my heart fairly sinks within me, under the conscious- 
ness that this reception as far transcends any merit of mine as it 
is wholly unexpected. I am left, indeed, without any thing to say 
in this wide world save the altogether-inadequate and common- 
place expression that I return to you my most cordial, my most 
sincere, thanks. (Enthusiastic applause.) 

"Attributing, as I will, your congratulations to-day to the general 
result of things in California, without reference to the causes or 
agents by which it was produced, and applying to myself but a 
small portion of your approbation, I may be permitted to mingle, 
■without stint, my congratulations with yours that California is now 
under the protection of the United States. (Great cheering.) Cali- 
fornia is, in my judgment, a valuable country. Iler agricultural, her 
horticultural, her mineral resources are abundant. She has beautiful 
skies and verdant fields ; her population consists of a fine-looking 
race of men and women ; they are kind, hospitable, and valiant. 

"Annexation — nay, acquisition — is not a necessary consequence 
of conquest, and, therefore, it is not on that account that 1 would 
offer my congratulations here to-day. Oh, no ! 

" I care not for the beautiful fields and healthful skies of Cali- 
fornia; I care not for her leagues of land and her mines of silver. 
The glory of the achievements there, if any glory there be, is in the 
establishment of the first free press in California; (tremendous ap- 
plause;) in having built the first school-house in California ; (renewed 
applause;) in having lighted up the torch of religious toleration, as 
well as of civil liberty, in California. (Tremendous applause.) May 
the torch grow brighter and brighter, until, from Cape Mendocino 
to Cape St. Lucas, it illumines the dark path of the victim of reli- 
gious intolerance and political despotism ! (Thunders of applause.) 

"The inhabitants of California number, I believe, about twelve or 
fifteen thousand. A large portion of them, if not all of them, pre- 
fer the institutions of the United States ; and it is much to be 
hoped — may I not say fervently, devoutly to be prayed for ? — that 
they shall in some way or other be secured in the permanent enjoy- 
ment of civil and religious liberty, (great applause,) and that our 
friends there may not pay the dreadful penalty the Mexican always 
demands, — his life for his fidelity to us ! (Great applause.) Well, 



COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AT PniLADELPIiIA. 173 

however this may turn out, if it should he otherwise, if these 
pleasing anticipations should not be realized, other hands must 
muzzle the free press ; other hands must tear down the school- 
houses ; other hands must put out the light of liberty ! (Great 
cheers.) For me and mine, before Grod, we'll take no part in such 
a business ! (Enthusiastic applause.) 

" California has within herself the elements of wealth and power ; 
and when art and science and religion, when all the genial influ- 
ences of civilization, which in our day is advancing with such mar- 
vellous rapidity, are brought to bear upon her, may we not rea- 
sonably assert that the years will be but few before we behold her 
standing erect in the attitude of a free and independent nation ? 
(Great applause.) 

" The investigations going on at Washington will prevent me, or 
rather will not permit me, with propriety, to say much in relation 
to the military operations in California. I cannot in these circum- 
stances say all that I might otherwise feel disposed to offer. I shall 
say very little, therefore, of myself. But it is known to you all that 
— whether from bad motives or from good motives, whether intention- 
ally or unintentionally, the truth is known — a shadow was thrown 
across .my path, which, for a season, so obscured my conduct as to 
make some of my fellow-citizens hesitate in their judgment with 
regard to my conduct in California. I state the fact not by way of 
complaint ; I never have complained ; I will not complain ; I do 
not complain. Conscious of having exerted my humble abilities to 
the best of my power in the cause of my country, and choosing 
rather to be regarded as a fool than a knave, I shall rely upon 
faithful history for my vindication, if vindication be necessary. 
(Long-continued cheering.) 

"I have alluded to these matters only to excuse the little that I 
deem it necessary to say on account of myself. I was Commander 
of the squadron in the Pacific Ocean as well as Commander-in- 
chief of the land-forces from the time Commodore Sloat left until 
a superior officer arrived. 

" I was Governor of the Territory as well as Commander-in- 
chief from the time of the conquest until I gave the supreme au- 
thority into other hands. We were at a great distance from home ; 
we were out of the reach of instructions from the Navy Depart- 
ment ; our resources were limited ; we had no navy-yards nor arse- 
nals to which to resort ; we were obliged to mount our own guns, 
to make our own harness, to supply ourselves with other necessaries 
in the best manner we could. In the midst of these embarrassino; 



174 COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AT PniLADELPHIA. 

circumstances wc thought that, as sailors, we had done very well. 
(Laughter and enthusiastic cheering.) But we urge no claim to 
any thing due to us save the acknowledgment that wc unsparingly 
devoted our faculties, all our energies, to the service of our coun- 
try. (Great applause.) 

<' Having said thus much, what seemed to me to be proper for 
me to say in regard to California, permit me now to say a word or 
two in reference to the present position of the United States and 
Mexico. 

" No thoughtful observer of the progress of the United States 
can fail to be impressed with the conviction that we enjoy a degree 
of happiness and prosperity never heretofore vouchsafed to the 
nations of mankind. With an unexampled measure of political 
liberty, unbroken social order, extraordinary growth of the arts and 
sciences, philanthropic and benevolent institutions — the fair offspring 
of the Christian faith, extending their blessed agency in all direc- 
tions, — unbounded religious toleration, heaven's best gift, for which 
our fathers risked and sufiFered most, — with all these rich endow- 
ments, do we not, indeed, present an example of the beneficent care 
of Providence for which we can find no parallel in the history of 
man ? And now, when enffajired in war, we find ourselves followed 
by the same blessed influences. Wherever our soldiers have carried 
our arms victory has awaited them. We see them rushing against walls 
bristling with bayonets and artillery and lined with legions of armed 
men ; we see our youthful heroes precipitating themselves from 
parapet to parapet, and charging from bastion to bastion ; we hear 
the crash of grape and canister, and, amid the smoke and thunder 
of the battle, we behold the flag of our country waving — (the re- 
mainder of the sentence was lost in the tremendous cheering which 
here burst forth from the assemblage.) We behold the flng of civil 
and religious freedom waving over what had been regarded as im- 
pregnable fortresses, and the remains of armies fleeing to the moun- 
tains. 

" Gentlemen, how has all this been accomplished ? Whence those 
achievements? I speak to intellectual men. All in the hearing 
of my voice entertain, I doubt not, a just and abiding sense of their 
deep responsibility not only on this earth, but in time hereafter. I 
ask you, then, how has all this happened ? Is it to be attributed 
exclusively to the wisdom of our cabinet and the prowess of our 
armies? These are all well, admirably well. But our successes 
have overleaped the bounds of all human calculation and the most 
sanguine hope. Therefore we must look beyond all this for the 



COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AT PHILADELPHIA. 175 

secret of our successes and the source of our remarkable prosperity. 
It is because the spirit of our pilgrim fathers is with us ; it is be- 
cause the God of armies and the Lord of hosts is with us. (Tre- 
mendous applause.) And how is it with poor, unfortunate, wretched 
Mexico ? Ever since the days of the last of the Montezuraas, intes- 
tine broils have disturbed her peace. Her whole territory has been 
drenched with the blood of her own children. Within the last 
quarter of a century, revolution has succeeded revolution. Now, 
in the encounter with us she has been beaten in every field. She 
has been driven from fortress to fortress, from town to town, until 
the scattered remnants of her broken armies are fleeing to the 
mountains and calling upon the rocks to hide them. (Applause.) 
Is it not, therefore, in this disposition of public affairs, proper to 
rise superior to the considerations of party influences, and in the 
true philosophical spirit and patriotic fidelity take an honest view 
of our condition in the sight of God and beneath the scrutiny of 
the Christian and civilized world ? 

" What you may think of it, I know not, and, you must permit 
me to add, I care not ; but for myself I speak to you not as a party 
man. Remember, gentlemen, that I go for my country. I cannot 
be bound ; I cannot be kept within the restraints of party discipline 
when my country calls me forth. (Tremendous cheering, which 
lasted several minutes.) I go for my country, my whole country, 
and nothing but my country. I desire to address you now in the 
spirit of the father of a large family, desirous to transmit to his 
latest posterity the blessings of civil and religious liberty. I speak 
to you as a Christian man — as a son, perhaps an unworthy son, of 
this great republic, but one whose heart burns with an ardent desire 
to transmit not only to his own immediate descendants the blessinga 
of which I speak, but to extend them to our neighbours on this con- 
tinent. (Great applause.) 

"But do not mistake me ; do not misunderstand me. I am no 
propagandist, in the common acceptation of the term. In my judg- 
ment, principles depend much upon relations and circumstances, 
and that which in the abstract may be well enough often wastes 
itself in fanaticism. All things must bide their time. 

" I have no respect for the man or set of men who will recklessly 
disturb the social order of any community and produce civil war 
for the purpose of hastening such a result, no matter how beneficial 
in the abstract it may seem to be. (Cheers.) And I am bound to 
say further, that I have quite as little respect for the man or set 
of men who have, in the providence of God, been placed in sta- 



176 COMPLIMENTARY DINGER AT PHILADELPHIA. 

tions, ^^•hen the great questions of civil aijd religious liberty are to 
be determined, who will shrink from the responsibilities of that 
station. (Cheers.) In the application of these principles to the 
future policy of this country, let it not be supposed for a moment 
that I would presume to censure the great men of this nation. Nor 
would I attempt to instruct the most humble of my countrymen. I 
present these views merely for the purpose of rendering more dis- 
tinct and clear the remarks which I have offered, and which I may 
not have stated with sufficient explicitness 

" I suppose the war with Mexico was caused by the repeated 
insults which time after time she had offered this nation. (Great 
applause.) I regard this much talkcd-of indemnity as merely col- 
lateral or incidental, arising out of the circumstances of the war. 
In my opinion, that question will be set aside, if not wholly lost 
sight of, in the pressure of the great considerations which are to 
grow out of the high responsibilities and delicate duties crowding 
upon us, and the unexampled victories which have attended our 
arms. (Cheers.) In pursuing a legitimate object of war, in the 
providence of God we are placed, or are likely soon to be placed, 
in a position where, by a fair and legitimate construction of the law 
of nations, the fate of Mexico and the peace of this continent, to a 
greater or less extent, will devolve upon the virtue, the wisdom, and 
the humanity of our rulers. (Applause.) In these rulers I have 
the greatest confidence, and for them I entertain the most profound 
respect. (Applause.) 

"I tell you again, gentlemen, this matter of indemnity, in money 
or any thing else, will be secondary, altogether secondary, in com- 
parison with the considerations which I have no doubt will be pre- 
sented to this nation in the further prosecution of this war. The 
insults have been resented — nobly resented ; they have been wiped 
out; they have been washed out with blood. (Enthusiastic ap- 
plause.) If, then, indemnity mean money, any financier will tell 
you that, if that is what you seek as the only object of the war, 
you had better withdraw your troops as soon as possible, and you 
will save money. (A laugh.) 

" But the indemnity is not the object of the war. No man here 
or elsewhere will consent to weigh blood against money. (Great 
applause.) I do not care who presents the proposition, when it is 
presented, or to whom it is presented, Whig or Democrat, no man 
will weigh blood for money. (Renewed applause.) But this is not, 
I repeat, our condition. Higher and nobler objects present them- 
selves, for the attainment of which you must increase your armies 



COMPLIMENTARY DINNER AT PHILADELPHIA. 177 

in Mexico, cost what it may. (Great applause.) Fifty thousand 
men must go to Mexico. (Renewed applause.) Let me then state 
the objects for the attainment of which, in my judgment, this aug- 
mentation of our force in Mexico, is required. 

" Mexico is poor and wretched. Why ? Misgovernment, insa- 
tiable avarice, unintermitted wrong, unsparing cruelty, and unbend- 
ing insolence, — these have inflicted their curse on the unhappy 
country and made her what she is. But as the darkest hour is 
that which just precedes the advent of the morning sun, so let us 
hope that a better and happier day is now about to dawn upon 
unfortunate Mexico. Be it ours now to forgive her all her tres- 
passes, and, returning good for evil, make her free and happy ! 
(Enthusiastic applause, which lasted several minutes.) 

" If I were now the sovereign authority, as I was once the 
viceroy, (laughter,) I would prosecute this war for the express pur- 
pose of redeeming Mexico from misrule and civil strife. If, how- 
ever, such a treaty were oifered me as that ofiered to the Government 
of the United States, before God, I would consider it my bounden 
duty to reject it. (Loud applause.) I would say to them, ' We can 
pay the indemnity ourselves. But we have a duty before God 
which we cannot — we must not — evade. The priceless boon of civil 
and religious liberty has been confided to us as trustees.' (Cheers.) 
I would insist, if the war were to be prolonged for fifty years, and 
cost money enough to demand from us each year the half of all that 
we possess, I would still insist that the inestimable blessings of civil 
and religious liberty should be guaranteed to Mexico. We must 
not shrink from this solemn duty. We dare not shrink from it. 
We cannot lose sight of the great truth that nations are accountable 
as well as individuals, and that they too must meet the stern 
responsibilities of their moral character ; they too must encounter 
the penalty of violated law in the more extended sphere adapted to 
their physical condition. 

" Let the solemn question come home to the bosom and business 
of every citizen of this great republic — ' What have I done — what 
has this generation done — for the advancement of civil and religious 
liberty ?' (Applause.) 

" It is in view of this responsibility, of our obligations to the 
infinite Source of all our peace, prosperity, and happiness, of our 
duty to fulfil the great mission of liberty committed to our hands, 
that I would insist, cost what it may, on the establishment of a 
permanent, independent republic in Mexico. (Cheers.) I would 
insist that the great principle of religious toleration should be 

12 



178 COMPLIMENTAft^)INNER AT PHILADELPHIA. 

secured to all ; that the Protestant in Mexico should be guaranteed 
the enjoyment of all the immunities and privileges enjoyed by 
Mexicans in the United States. (Loud cheers.) These great and 
benevolent objects I would accomplish by sending into Mexico a 
force adequate to maintain all the posts which we now occupy, to 
defend them against any assaults that might be made against them, 
and to keep open our communications. I would seize upon Parcdes, 
Arista, and other military chieftains, and send them to St. Helena, 
if you please. (Laughter and applause.) I would declare an 
armistice ; and the Executive should be called upon to issue a pro- 
clamation, and send six or more commissioners to meet Mexico in 
a liberal and generous spirit. 

"We have vanquished Mexico. She is prostrate at our feet; we 
can afford to be magnanimous. Let us act so that we need not 
fear the strictest scrutiny of the Christian and civilized world. I 
would, with a magnanimous and kindly hand, gather these wretched 
people within the fold of republicanism, (Loud applause.) This I 
would accomplish at any cost. ' Oh !' but, it is said, < this will bring 
us to direct taxation.' Well, let it come. We must not shrink from 
our responsibility. We have ample means. Throwing aside long finan- 
cial reports which nobody understands, (laughter,) let us in a manly, 
upright, and philanthropic spirit, meet every emergency which we may 
be called upon to encounter in the discharge of duty. (Applause.) 

" But I have already detained you too long. Let me conclude, 
and, again returning my heartfelt thanks for your kindness, offer 
you the following sentiment : — 

" ' Philadelphia — Renowned for her encouragement of the fine 
arts ; with one moiety of the public patronage bestowed elsewhere, 
she would stand as unrivalled in the mechanic arts as the State of 
Pennsylvania now does in her agricultural and mineral resources.' " 

This toast was received with great enthusiasm, and the distin- 
guished guest resumed his seat amid long-continued cheering. 

It will be perceived, from the date when this speech was delivered, 
that peace with Mexico had not then been concluded. It may be 
inferred, from the sentiments expressed by Commodore Stockton on 
this occasion, that he could not have approved entirely the Treaty 
of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. He seems to have been of opinion that the 
United States should have retained some sort of a protectorate over 
Mexico until she should become capable of self-government. How- 
ever startling such a proposition may seem, it may well be doubted 
whether such a policy would not have conferred on Mexico blessings 



Stockton's advocacy of American doctrines. 179 

of inestimable value. Political sagacity may yet be baffled to dis- 
cover any other method, by means of which that beautiful country 
can be restored to a state of progressive civilization, or its relapse 
into degraded barbarism averted. 

The expression of such an opinion at that time was certainly in 
advance of the age, if it be not so now, even after the lamentable 
events in Mexican history during the last eight years. But the at- 
tentive observer of the career of Commodore Stockton will perceive 
that it is characteristic of his mind to be in the advance of his day 
and generation. This is indicated by his early attention to the in- 
ternal improvement of New Jersey, by his construction of the 
steamer Princeton, his general views on naval defences, his repudia- 
tion of Van Buren, his Kossuth speech, his advocacy of the abolition 
of flogging, and by his adoption of the American doctrines at the 
Philadelphia banquet. Though at that time the Americans, as a 
party, were of insignificant strength, we find in this speech intrinsic 
evidence that he then entertained the leading doctrines by which 
recently they have become so well known. He distinctly avows the 
principle that it is the duty of the United States to exact from 
foreign governments, in favour of American residents, the same 
freedom of religious worship that the United States concedes to 
foreigners residing in this country. 

The speech is evidently incompletely reported ; but there is 
enough of it preserved to indicate the boldness and the originality 
of the views of Commodore Stockton with respect to our relations 
with Mexico, as well as to other subjects. 

The Commodore, it is known, never approved of the boundary- 
line fixed by the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo. He had, in his first 
despatches to the Navy Department from California, urged upon the 
Government the expediency of obtaining Lower as well as Upper 
California.* In his letter of the 18th September, 1846, addressed 
to Mr. Bancroft, Secretary of the Navy, he says : — 

" We must, therefore, hold the country along the sea-coast as far 
south as St. Lucas, and make the river Gila, and a line drawn from 
that river across to the Del Norte, the southern boundary; all of 
which is now in our possession. It is not my business, perhaps, to 
say more on the subject. I will send you, however, a map which I 
have made, and on which I have traced with red ink the boundary- 
line above suggested." That map was sent, and is now on file at 
Washington in the proper Department. 

* See Letter, in Aopendix. 



180 III5J RECEPTION ||^KEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE. 

Among the honours conferred on the Commoflore soon after his 
return was a formal reception by the Legishxture of his native 
State. 

The following joint resolutions of the Legislature of New Jersey 
were submitted in the House of Assembly on the Cth of February, 
1848, and were unanimously adopted by both Houses : — 

""Wheheas, Commodore Robert F. Stockton has, at all times, 
promptly and efficiently responded to the call of his country, and 
in the exciting war with Mexico has signally maintained the honour 
and gallantry of his native State — therefore, 

^'■Resolved, That the thanks of the Legislature of New Jersey 
be tendered to Commodore Robert F. Stockton for the dis- 
tinguished alacrity, courage, and ability, with which he has dis- 
charged the arduous and multiplied duties assigned him in Cali- 
fornia. 

'■'■Resolvedj That a joint committee of the Senate and General 
Assembly be appointed to carry into effect the foregoing resolutions." 

We take the following proceedings of his reception by the Legis- 
ture from the " Trenton State Gazette" of March 3, 1848 : — 

COMMODORE STOCKTON AND THE LEGISLATURE. 

Yesterday, in accordance with the previous arrangements, the 
resolutions of the Legislature, testifying their high sense of his re- 
cent services in California, were presented to Commodore Stockton 
in the Assembly-room, by the two Houses of the Legislature, through 
Mr. Goble, the chairman of the committee. Soon after 12 o'clock. 
Commodore Stockton was waited upon at Snowden's, by the com- 
mittee of the Legislature, and was escorted thence, by them and a 
number of citizens, to the Assembly-room. The Commodore was in 
the uniform of his rank. The hall of the Assembly was occupied 
by the Senators and Assemblymen. The lobbies and the aisles were 
crowded with spectators. The galleries, having been reserved for 
their use, were filled with ladies. Commodore Stockton was escorted 
by the committee to the left of the Speaker's chair, the members of 
both houses rising to receive him. The Speaker then called the 
house to order, and Mr. Goble addressed Commodore Stockton aa 
follows : — 

"Commodore Stockton: — On behalf of the joint committee ap- 
pointed for that purpose, I present to you the resolutions of thanks 
passed unanimously by the Legislature of the State of New Jersey 



HIS KEPLY TO TEE RESOLUTIONS. 181 

for your public services in Mexico. In a remote clime you have 
nobly sustained the American flag, and have advanced the reputa- 
tion of the American navy. Your gallant achievements in Califor- 
nia and on the Pacific coast have endeared your name to the people 
of your native State, and have rendered this expression of approba- 
tion from its constituted authorities as becoming to them as it has 
been deserved by you. Nor have we forgotten, in the brilliancy of 
your naval and military career, the important services you have per- 
formed on a less dazzling but no less meritorious field of action. 
The cause of internal improvements in the State of New Jersey has 
been greatly promoted by your active and strenuous exertions. As 
a token, therefore, of the respect and admiration you have justly 
inspired, I tender you a copy of the resolutions recently adopted by 
the Legislature." 

Mr. Goble then presented to Commodore Stockton a parchment 
copy of the resolutions of the Legislature. 

Commodore Stockton then replied as follows : — 

"Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Assembly: — Noble- 
ness of sentiment, correctness of conduct, and the love of liberty, 
have ever characterized our citizens wherever they have carried our 
victorious arms. Actuated by a desire of fame or an ardent affec- 
tion for their country, our heroes have conquered and our patriots 
have bled. Sacrifices of the most heroic kind have been made, and 
actions have been performed which almost exceed our belief of human 
power and endurance. That, amid such scenes of glory and con- 
gratulation, I should have been thought of at all, and especially that 
I should have been so kindly and so honourably remembered by the 
representatives of the State of New Jersey, in General Assembly 
convened, is, and must always be to me, a source of unfeigned, un- 
mixed, pride and satisfaction. There is — undoubtedly there is — a 
desire for praise and fame which encourages a weak and ignoble 
pride ; but there is also a noble, generous, manly, and moral regard 
for the good opinion of our fellow-citizens which elevates the mind 
and improves the heart. The age in which we live, and our own 
country particularly, is remarkable for the manner in which those 
who serve the public are commended and rewarded. The gorgeous 
equipage, the triumphal arch, the imperial purple, the crowns and 
tablets of gold and silver, give way to the more simple, eloquent, 
touching, and godlike commendation of "Well-done, good and 
faithful servant." For, whatever of commendation and honour may 
have elsewhere been bestowed upon me, I hope that I have a full 



182 REPLY TO THE RESOLUTIONS. 

and abiding sense of gratitude ; but this is my native State, here I 
was born, here I have lived, and here I hope to die. This is my 
home ; and the thanks of the representatives of my fellow-citizens, 
who have known me in private as well as in public life, is the most 
heartfelt and the greatest reward that can be given for my poor 
but wcll-intcndcd efforts in the service of my country. Oh! yes! 
this is my native land. 

" ' Lives there a man with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said 
This is my own, my native land ?' 

At this time, and under the interesting circumstances of this occa- 
sion, I cannot, I do not, wish to say one word about myself, or of 
the deeds that I have done. They are, indeed, so poor in com- 
parison with the honour which you have this day conferred upon 
me, that I dare not, by their recital, run the risk of dissolving the 
charm which your thanks have thrown around my heart. I would 
not for the world's extent say any thing or do any thing that would 
loosen or in any degree weaken the bonds of reciprocal regard and 
confidence which this day binds us together. I would leave the 
matter with you, just as it is. I would not add or take from it one 
jot or tittle. Let it be just so. You have given to me your thanks; 
and I here renew to you my fidelity to my native State and my 
country. 

" A few words as to Mexico, and I have done. The causes of the 
war and the circumstances attending its prosecution are as well 
known to you as to myself. It does not become me to say any 
thing upon that topic. It is understood, however, that a treaty of 
peace between the United States and Mexico has been received by 
the President and sent to the Senate of the United States, and it 
may not be inappropriate or unacceptable to say a word or two upon 
that subject. 

" In my judgment, there are tAvo views which may be taken of this 
matter. 

"The first is the Christian, philanthropic, statesmanlike view, 
which will prevent our giving up Mexico and withdrawing our troops, 
until a free, independent, republican Government shall be there esta- 
blished, and until we shall have made with such a government a 
treaty securing to the Protestant of these United States the same 
privileges which, by our Constitution, are secured to the Roman 
Catholic, and thereby remove all pretence for European interference 
in tlie afl'airs of Mexico. 



RESIGNS HIS COMMISSION IN THE NAVY. 183 

" The other view of the subject embraces the idea that we are to 
entertain no sympathy for any but ourselves ; that we have no con- 
cern in any portion of this continent but our own ; that it is a mat- 
ter of no consequence to us whether we leave Mexico in a state of 
revolution and blood, or whether a monarchical or republican govern- 
ment should be established there ; that all we want is peace, and 
peace we must have, cost what it may. 

"If this last view obtains, I would recommend to its advocates to 
get as many of the dirty acres as they can, ratify the treaty, and 
close the war as soon as possible. 

"Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Committee: — I hardly 
know how properly to return my acknowledgments to you for this 
kind reception and for your eloquent and generous address to me. 
While I am free to admit they greatly exceed my poor deserts, still 
it would be to indulge a puerile and unworthy affectation were I to 
hesitate to say that they have given me the most unbounded 
pleasure. For the part which you have taken in these ceremonies, 
so kind and honourable to myself, permit me to return to you my 
best, kindest, humblest, thanks." 

In 1849, Commodore Stockton resigned his commission in the 
navy. Peace had been restored between Mexico and the United 
States in 1848. His father-in-law, John Potter, Esq., having died, 
also in this year, devolving upon him, in the settlement of a large 
estate, duties and responsibilities additional to those which a nu- 
merous family of his own and his connection with the public works 
of New Jersey already imposed, he thought that the time had ar- 
rived when his age, his past public services, and the condition of the 
country, would justify his retirement. He was, however, devotedly 
attached to the navy ; and, notwithstanding the imperative nature 
of his private interests requiring for a while his entire attention, he 
would not, even at this time, have surrendered his position in the 
navy had he not felt the injustice of remaining in the service while 
he was conscious that he would not be able for a long time to per- 
form the duties which might be required of him. 

During the whole course of his service, from 1811 to 1849, he 
had never asked a furlough or even leave of absence. And, no 
matter how urgent and critical were his own private affairs, in every 
instance he promptly obeyed every order which he received. 

The country was in the enjoyment of profound peace, and 
no cloud of war was visible on the horizon of the distant 



184 HIS LETTER ON SLAVERY. 

future. lie, therefore, determined no longer to remain callous 
to the entreaties of his family, who had for many years soli- 
cited his retirement from the navy. He had reached the highest 
grade in the service; he had won laurels quite enough to gratify his 
amhition ; he had conferred on his country an ample return for the 
confidence she had bestowed on him; he had served her faithfully 
and given her the prime years of his manhood ; and he felt that 
neither honour nor duty required that he should any longer continue 
insensible to the demands of affection and of his domestic duties. 

In 1850, the organization of the new territories, and the question 
respecting the application of the Wilmot proviso, excluding slavery 
from them, became subjects of absorbing interest. The whole country 
was agitated by the discussion, and, indeed, still continues more or 
less distracted in relation to the subject. 

March 7, 1850, Mr. Webster delivered his great speech in the 
Senate in favour of compromise. Having been for many years on 
terms of great personal intimacy with Commodore Stockton, he sent 
him a copy of this speech, and solicited his views on the subject 
in the following letter : — 

MR. WEBSTER TO COMMODORE STOCKTON. 

"Washington, March 22, 1850. 
" My dear Sir : — I send to you, as an old friend, a copy of my 
late speech in the Senate. It relates to a subject quite interesting 
to the country, as connected with the question of proper govern- 
ments for those new territories which you had an important agency 
in bringing under the power of the United States. 

"I would hardly ask your opinion of the general sentiments 
of the speech, although I know you are a very competent judge, 
but that, being out of the strife of politics, your judgment is not 
likely to be biassed, and that you have as great a stake as any man 
in the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the 
Government on its true principles. 

"I am, dear sir, 

" "With great respect, yours, 

"Daniel Webster. 
<« Commodore Stockton." 

Commodore Stockton responded to this invitation in his celebrated 
letter on the subject of slavery. It is, perhaps, the most masterly, 
statesmanlike, national, and comprehensive view of the subject which 
has ever been taken by any public man. It exercised a powerful 



NOMINATED FOR UNITED STATES SENATE. 185 

influence on the public at that time, and is destined still to exert a 
most salutary influence wherever it is read by those who can appre- 
ciate the importance and value of the Union and an implicit ob- 
servance of the obligations of the Constitution.* 

In the election of 1850, in November, the Democratic party in 
New Jersey succeeded in obtaining a majority in the Legislature. 
So soon as this result was known, Commodore Stockton was placed 
in nomination in various parts of the State as a candidate for the 
place of Senator, as successor to the Hon. Wm. L. Dayton, whose 
term expired on the 4th of March, 1852. 

The Commodore was by no means ambitious of filling this honour- 
able position. Having resigned his commission for the purpose of 
attending to his private affairs, he was reluctant to enter a sphere 
the duties of which would necessarily engross his time and attention 
for the greater part of the year. With these feelings, before the 
Legislature met, he published the following letter: — 

"Pkinceton, November 19, 1850. 

"to the editor of the 'TRUE AMERICAN': 

" I notice in the papers of the day, have learned from letters, and 
heard in private circles, that my name is spoken of in connection 
with the ofiice of United States Senator for New Jersey. 

"With gratitude to those of my fellow-citizens who have named 
me for that high ofiice, I must nevertheless say, frankly and at 
once, that I decline it. 

'■'However averse I may he to enter into questions of party jJoUtics, 
still, permit me to express the hope that the appointment of Senator 
may be conferred on some one whose heart and hand and voice is 
pledged to the Union of the States at all hazards, and to the sup- 
port of the compromises of the Constitution and the execution of the 
laws with unfaltering fidelity. 

"Survive who may, perish who will, the Union must be preserved. 
To this sentiment, for one, I set my hand and heart, and on its 
maintenance I am now, as I ever have been, ready to pledge my 
life, my fortune, and my honour. The people of New Jersey have, 
at the late election, adopted it and made it theii's, and every citizen 
everywhere, who loves his country and his race, will respond to it 
with enthusiasm. R. F. Stockton." 

The reader will observe the Commodore's remark in this letter 
* This Letter will be found in the sequel to these pages. 



186 HE IS ELECTED. 

respecting his aversion to party politics. The history of American 
politics affords few instances of politicians scouting party politics 
at the very time when they were set up as the candidates of a party. 
But the Commodore, though in principle he was allied with the 
Democratic party, and for the most part had acted with them, de- 
sired his party friends to understand that he was not that sort of 
party man who considers the party the alpha and omega of his 
political creed ; that, though in principle with the Democratic 
party, he did not intend to lose sight of the country, its honour, and 
interests. 

No man has perceived more closely and with more disgust than 
he the perversion of party to the purposes of the selfish ambition of 
aspiring men. His own self-respect, therefore, induces him to re- 
volt from the tyranny of party when, under the pretext of principle, 
it becomes the ancillary of personal ambition. lie will go with it 
while the honour, interests, and welfare of the country are its real 
objects ; but, when they are not absolutely involved, he feels at liberty 
to exercise the independence of a free man. Of course, entertaining 
such sentiments, venal, dissolute, and ambitious politicians are not 
political friends of Stockton. He knows it, and nothing is more 
gratifying to him than their aversion, except the approbation of the 
just and good. 

Notwithstanding the decided terms in which Commodore Stock- 
ton declined the honour of a seat in the Senate of the United States, 
he was elected at the ensuing session of the Legislature, after a con- 
test which, however acrimonious at the time, has nevertheless left 
no immedicable wounds. The distinguished gentleman whom he 
succeeded (the Hon. Wra. L. Dayton) had the magnanimity, only 
two years after, in a speech at Trenton, before the people, to speak 
of the Commodore in the following terms : — 

" They say Mr. Pierce is a good Democrat, but at the same time 
they tell us he is opposed to a tariff', and opposed to internal im- 
provement, and the only thing he is in favour of is free trade. lie 
is against every thing that we go for, and, therefore, he is not the 
man to get our votes. Why, I could have chosen for them a better 
man to run, from our own neighbourhood — a man whose name is 
known to the country — who has been heard of in Africa, in Cali- 
fornia, and at San Gabriel — a real hero. Everj^body knows I am un- 
der no obligations to that gentleman ; but if the opposite party had 
taken up Commodore Stockton, I believe they would have had a 
much stronger candidate ; and then we should have had a real 
Jersey race on both sides." 



STOCKTON TAKES HIS SEAT IN THE SENATE. 187 



CHAPTER XIV. 

COMMODORE STOCKTON TAKES HIS SEAT Ijf THE SENATE KOSSUTH EXCITEMENT 

RESOLUTIONS OF LEGISLATURE OF NEW JERSEY — COMMODORE STOCKTON THE FIRST 
TO GRASP THE PRACTICAL QUESTION PRESENTED BY KOSSUTH — SPEECHES IN THE 
SENATE ON FLOGGING IN THE NAVY WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY BANQUET BALTI- 
MORE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION 

GENERAL EXPECTATION THAT COMMODORE STOCKTON WOULD BE TENDERED THE 
NAVY DEPARTMENT RESIGNATION OF SEAT IN SENATE. 

The election of Commodore Stockton to the Senate of the United 
States was the first instance of the election to that body of a mem- 
ber whose previous life had been passed on the quarter-deck. In- 
stances there had been of the election of senators who, in early life, 
had belonged to the navy. Mr. Louis McLane, of Delaware, had 
been a Lieutenant in the navy, but left it when young to pursue the 
profession of law. Commodore Stockton, however, had never fol- 
lowed any other than the nautical profession, and, having risen to 
distinction, had but recently resigned his commission as a naval 
officer. Generals without number, both of the regular army and of 
the militia, have figured in the Senate as well as in the House of 
Representatives of Congress. But they have generally, at some 
period or other, belonged to one of the learned professions, or have 
enjoyed the advantages of some parliamentary experience in the 
legislatures of their respective States. 

Commodore Stockton entered the Senate without any such pre- 
paratory experience. Many, therefore, without any knowledge of his 
previous history, ignorant of the important part which he had for 
many years taken in the civil and political afiairs of New Jersey, 
were disposed to sneer at the election of a sailor to the Senate of 
the United States. They did not believe that the commander of a 
man-of-war could possess the qualifications for shining in the first 
deliberative body of the world, where the highest intellectual efforts 
of the master minds of America were put forth. Of course, no one 
(except those who knew him well) was prepared to believe that 
he would add any new lustre to his name by adventure in such a 
field. 



188 KOSSUTH EXCITEMENT. 

Commodore Stockton tooK his scat in the Senate about the middle 
of December, 1851. 

It will be remembered that at tliis time Kossuth was in the zenith 
of that wonuerful popularity which his genius, eloquence, and cause 
had inspired. He had passed through the country and electrified 
all classes. The whole nation, with an apparently overwhelming 
majority, responded to his invocations, and seemed disposed to accede 
to his invitations and adopt the policy which he advocated. The 
public ear received coldly and unwillingly any remonstrance adverse 
to the wishes of Kossuth. The popular feelings were captivated 
and spell-bound by the Hungarian magician. Presidential aspi- 
rants and their friends vied in subserviency to the eloquent foreigner. 
Under the impulse of the popular ebullition, there was danger that 
the peace of the country would be compromised, and that we should 
become entangled in the strife which disturbed Europe. 

In this condition of the public mind, the question was presented 
to the Senate whether they would give Kossuth a public reception 
or not, and whether they would sanction the doctrines which he had 
been inculcating ? 

It was held by some that the Senate were committed to his recep- 
tion by having invited him to America. Some senators were dis- 
posed to refuse any further recognition of the distinguished Hun- 
garian, lest the country might be committed by such action of the 
Senate. Others were anxious for such recognition for the purpose 
of gradually leading the United States into some measure of inter- 
vention for the benefit of the European republicans. Politicians 
perceptibly quailed before the influence of the foreign-born popu- 
lation, which was unanimously in favour of Kossuth's policy. 

The Senate was visibly perplexed as to the proper course to be 
taken. Confused notions seemed to be entertained by senators as 
to the true policy of the United States with reference to the revo- 
lutionists of Europe. The oldest senators failed to grapple with 
the real points at issue, or to present them distinctly to the popular 
mind. The policy of intervention or non-intervention was rendered 
more obscure the longer the discussion lasted. Two months of the 
session had elapsed, and the Senate were apparently as far from a 
decision as when it commenced. 

On the 2d of February, 1852, Commodore Stockton expressed his 
opinions on the subject. The occasion aflforded him for that purpose 
Avas the presentation of the resolutions of the Legislature of New 
Jersey upon intervention and non-intervention. 

These resolutions aflfirmed very broadly that non-intervention was 



Stockton's opinions concerning intervention. 189 

the true doctrine which the United States should maintain. The 
Commodore, in the most respectful but decided manner, expressed 
his dissent from this principle asserted by the resolutions. He con- 
tended that the non-intervention doctrine, if established as the law 
of nations, would be fatal to the cause of liberty. He thought the 
Senate could not hesitate about giving Kossuth a public reception, 
because they were committed by their previous action. But, to 
adopt the doctrine of non-intervention, would be to act in accord- 
ance with the wishes of the most despotic governments. They had 
intervened for four thousand years against liberty ; and now that 
the time was approaching when the United States would soon be 
able to cope with the world in arms, to say that in no case should 
we intervene would be to assert the doctrine which tyranny would 
approve and liberty deplore. And then, grasping the practical 
question involved in the discussion, and from which all others seemed 
to shrink with apprehension, he declared that it was not expedient 
for the United States to intervene in behalf of Hungary and 
against Russia ; that such intervention was a Utopian idea, and 
utterly visionary and impracticable. He was the first public man 
of any prominence who had the moral courage to avow these opi- 
nions. Their practical common sense was apparent to all as soon 
as they were avowed by him. 

General Cass, Senator Douglas, and other leading senators, adopted 
the views of Commodore Stockton substantially, and vindicated 
elaborately their soundness. 

From that day the sympathizers and non-interventionists began 
to lose ground, and the whole country awakened from the delusion 
with which it had been beguiled by the oratory of Kossuth. 

The speech of Commodore Stockton on the New Jersey non- 
intervention resolutions breathes a high-toned devotion to the cause 
of human liberty. It displays also enlarged statesmanlike views of 
the true national policy of the United States, with hopeful and 
generous predictions of the future. It may well be studied for the 
sound comprehensive principles which it maintains. Though brief 
and terse, like most of the Commodore's senatorial speeches, it 
covers a large expanse of controversy and enunciates noble and 
liberal sentiments with boldness, vigour, and eloquence. 

During his short senatorial career, though the Commodore did 
not speak often, yet he spoke often enough to make a powerful im- 
pression on the public mind ; no senator was heard with more atten- 
tion or commanded more respect, and no senator attracted a more 



100 SPEECH ON^iOGGING IN THE NAVY. 

numerous audience. "Wlien it was anticipated that he would speak 
the galleries of the Senate were always crowded to overflow. 

His speeches on harbour defences and the eflSciency of the navy 
fearlessly proclaimed the imbecility of the bureaux in promoting 
the development of the navy. They present the practical results 
of his naval experience, and are replete with valuable suggestions 
and patriotic advice to prepare in peace for a state of war. 

His speech on flogging in the navy was, perhaps, his most elabo- 
rate eff'ort while in the Senate. He therein vindicated the opinions 
on that subject which he was known to have long held. That speech 
absolutely terminated all controversy on the subject. No one, since 
the delivery of that speech, has attempted to vindicate the revival 
of that exploded and barbarous practice. The abolition of flog- 
ging in the navy had other able champions ; but the testimony of 
Commodore Stockton in favour of the abandonment of the practice 
settled the question. Few speeches in Congress have obtained a 
more extensive circulation or produced a more profound sensation. 
Among the maritime classes, especially in New England, it has 
given him a popularity universal and enduring. It is an effort 
creditable alike to his humanity, the soundness of his judgment, 
and his patriotism. 

Few senators ever acquired the same degree of power and influ- 
ence as Commodore Stockton exerted in the Senate in so short a 
time. He never made any serious effort to carry a bill or measure 
while in the Senate without succeeding. 

The day after his bill for reform in the navy passed the Senate, 
a distinguished senator, opposed to it, riding up with a friend, being 
asked the fate of that bill, replied, " Oh, it passed ; the Commodore 
is irresistible ; to contend with him is certain defeat." 

During the prevalence of the Kossuth excitement, a number of 
members of Congress, who were anxious to check the foreign influ- 
ence which was evidently seeking to plunge the country into the 
vortex of European politics, proposed such a celebration of Wash- 
ington's birthday as would have a tendency to revive the recollec- 
tion of Washington's policy towards foreigners and foreign nations. 
Accordingly a very large subscription-banquet was arranged. It 
was attended by almost all those distinguished members of both 
houses who were indisposed to submit to the dictation of the dis- 
tinguished exile. 

The committee of arrangements consisted of the Hon. A. H. 
Stephens, Georgia; Hon. T. H. Bayly, Virginia ; Hon. Edward 
Stanley, North Carolina ; Hon. C L. Dunham, Indiana ; Hon. 



Washington's birthday banquet. 191 

"William Appleton, Massachusetts ; Hon. "W. L. Polk, Tennessee ; 
Hon. A. L. Miner, Vermont. 

The banquet took place at Willard's Hotel, on the evening of 
Saturday, the 21st of February. 

The Hon. R. F. Stockton presided; and the Hon. W. R. King, 
President of the Senate, G. W. P. Custis, Esq., Judge Wayne of 
the Supreme Court of the United States, and General Winfield 
Scott, the Hon. Abraham Venable, and the Hon. John L. Taylor^ 
acted as Vice-Presidents. 

The Rev. C. M. Butler, Chaplain of the Senate, returned thanks, 
when the cloth was removed ; when Commodore Stockton rose and 
delivered in the most solemn and impressive manner the following 
address : — 

« Friends and Americans : — In calling me to preside over this 
festive commemoration of the birthday of Washington, a great 
honour has been conferred on me, for which my best thanks are due. 

"As our Republic grows, as she enlarges her sphere, as the multi- 
plying millions diflFuse themselves over this vast continent, our 
federal relations will probably become more complicated and diver- 
sified, and the Constitution and the Union may be more severely tried 
by mistaken construction, reckless violation, or insidious corruption. 

" The remembrance of the past, the momentous questions of the 
present day, and the solemn mysteries of the future, should teach 
us to appreciate the inestimable treasure that is concentrated in the 
pure character and holy patriotism of him who was ' first in war, 
first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,' (cheers,) 
and to admonish us of the importance of our keeping fresh in the 
minds of all this mighty people the memory of our beloved Wash- 
ington. (Renewed cheers.) That is a talisman whose virtue is 
more precious than oceans of liquid gold or solid mountains of silver. 

"Nobleness of sentiment, heroism of conduct, and love of liberty, 
have astonished and delighted mankind in every country and in 
every age; costly sacrifices have been made by patriots, and actions of 
almost incredible prowess have been performed by mighty men of old. 
But in those exhibitions of valour and greatness there has almost 
always been more or less of personal ambition or criminal atrocity. 
It was left for the age of our Revolution to produce a true hero 
and patriot — a man whose fame is obnoxious to no such reproach. 
A Christian hero, he was indeed a stern soldier and conqueror, but 
without a crime. His eyes glistened with the dew-drops of pity, 
even when the unsheathed sword reeked with the blood of the 



192 Stockton's SPEECH at the banquet. 

fallen foe. A statesman and a legislator, neither intrigue, dissimu- 
lation, nor injustice, marred his character. The first man of the 
age, his great desire was to occupy a private station. In everj 
vocation in which he was called to act, he excelled the most illus- 
trious of all preceding ages, and he differed from the greatest among 
them by being untarnished by those imperfections which they exhibited 

" But I will not attempt the vain effort of magnifying his fame 
His virtues are the legacy of the greatest value which he has be- 
queathed. We have assembled to renew our remembrance of those 
virtues, and not to offer incense of praise to his great name. This 
being our only object on this occasion, I say, in the language of 
Holy Writ, ' It is good for us to be here.' Let us erect a taber- 
nacle in every heart and dedicate it to Washington and the Con- 
stitution. (Applause.) 

<' Gentlemen, we shall be true to our country — the American 
people Avill be true to their country and to its Constitution — just so 
long as we are all true to the memory of Washington. Through 
all time the virtue of our people will be gauged by the intensity of 
their veneration for his precepts of wisdom, by the vigour of their 
appreciation for his character, and by the respect which they che- 
rish and manifest for his virtues. 

" If the time shall come when unholy ambition, the lust for 
power, and foreign conquest or the glory of expensive war, shall 
animate our public men, and their fierce passions and dangerous 
designs cannot be checked by the remembrance of the probity of 
Washington and his policy, then, indeed, the golden age of this 
Republic will be forgotten. (Applause.) 

" If sectional injustice and animosities almost kindle the fires of 
civil war — if illegal power, regardless of the reserved rights of the 
States and the people, shall trample, under the victorious march of 
party spirit, the Constitution, — then, if an appeal to the memory of 
the grave and fastidious caution with which Washington interpreted 
that sacred instrument shall be in vain, then, indeed, small hope 
will remain to invigorate the efforts of the patriots to bring back 
the Government to the purity of that of Washington and Jefferson. 

"If the time shall come when, under the influence of generous, 
hospitable emotions or ill-considered partiality, our people shall 
rashly seek to involve the Republic in the stormy and wretched vortex 
of European politics, and, abandoning the ground of Washington, 
seek to place themselves on that of foreign powers, forgetful that 
their first and chief duty is to take care of their own country, then, 
if the farewell warnings of the Father of his Country cannot recall 



Stockton's speech at the banquet. 193 

them to a true perception of the duties of patriotism, nothing but 
those calamities which entangling alliances, and the long and fear- 
ful train of evils which float in the wake of pernicious war, will re- 
veal the delusion, the folly and the errors of their degenerate age. 
(Great and prolonged applause.) 

" If the time shall ever come when corruption shall invade the 
walls of our proud capital and venal crime shall stalk unblushing 
through its precincts, and profligate extravagance and perfidious 
peculation abound at the other end of the avenue, then^ if the re- 
membrance of the frugality, the purity, the simplicity of Wash- 
ington's administration cannot save us, we shall have foundered 
upon those rocks on which all other republics have broken to pieces. 
(Applause.) When corruption reigns here, Washington Avill be 
forgotten. (Great applause.) 

" Friends and fellow-citizens ! following in the footsteps of the 
immortal Washington, let us cherish his memory and profit by his 
precepts and his wisdom. 

" Members of both houses of Congress ! let us keep this Govern- 
ment within its prescribed, constitutional limits ; (applause ;) preserve 
it a frugal and economical government, (renewed applause,) drawing 
from the people no more than is absolutely necessary for the purposes 
of an honest administration of the Constitution. (Applause.) Let 
no temptation, however urgent or magnificent, induce us to violate 
its spirit or its letter. Let forbearance and conciliation towards all 
the difi"erent sections of our country and their diverse interests dis- 
tinguish our councils ; cherish peace ; avoid war when not essential 
for practicable purposes or for the defence of national interests and 
national honour. Then we shall bid defiance to the remorseless 
appetite for power ; we shall erect an invincible barrier to corrup- 
tion ; we shall thus baffle demagogues at home and check eventually 
the march of despotism abroad. (Loud applause.) 

"By disregarding the maxims and forgetting the virtues of 
Washington, we might sooner, perhaps, reach the pinnacle of great- 
ness, but it would be at the expense of the longevity of the Re- 
public. Let us adhere to them, for they will conduct us quite soon 
enough to the topmost round of the ladder of national aspiration ; 
and, while thus adhering to his example and emulating his patriotic 
devotion to the Constitution, let us look high enough to see and 
open our hearts wide enough to embrace all the varied interests of 
this widely-extended country. 

" If we have patriotism enough to stand up at all times and under 
all emergencies for our country, our whole country, and nothing but 

13 



194 NAMED AMONG THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. 

our country, wc may some of us be victims to the little arts of little 
politicians ; but even in death our country — great, glorious, united, 
and prosperous — will be our monument, attesting our fidelity and 
honouring our memories. (Great and prolonged cheering.) 

" Fellow-citizens, I have the honour to announce the first regular 
toast : — 

" ' Tlie day we celebrate. — Auspicious to the cause of rational 
freedom. It gave to liberty its ablest defender, and to republican 
institutions their truest expounder.' " 

In all his speeches the reader will perceive the characteristics of 
a bold, frank, and honourable man. Fearless and independent in 
the assertion of principles which he approved, regardless of party 
ties when they appeared to conflict with his duty, antiquated preju- 
dices found in him a determined foe, and oflScial incapacity stood 
aghast at the freedom of his denunciations. His speeches show that 
he is evidently a man of strong and original powers, self-reliant, 
abundant in resource, and possessed of that intrepid moral courage 
which never shrinks from the performance of duty nor refrains from 
doing what is right. He fears no one, nor the opinions of any one. 
The coolness and self-possession for which he is so remarkable in 
action never fail him in the deliberations of the council-chamber. 

After the election of Commodore Stockton to the Senate, his 
name was frequently mentioned in prominent papers among those 
of the candidates for the Presidency. Many of his friends felt con- 
fident that he would be nominated by the Democratic Convention 
of 1852. Nothing which fell from him, however, indicated any such 
aspirations. No efforts were made by him to secure a delegation 
from New Jersey to the Baltimore Convention favourable to that ob- 
ject. That would have required no serious exertions to accomphsh 
had he really evinced any desire to become a candidate. His ex- 
perience of public life at Washington inspired him with no ambition 
for the Presidency. The delegation from New Jersey was composed 
of five delegates friendly to his nomination, and two opponents. 
The vote of the State could, therefore, have been given to him if he 
would have consented to be a candidate. A majority of the dele- 
gates called upon him previous to the meeting of the Convention, 
and tendered their support. But, so far from consenting to the in- 
troduction of his name, he extracted from them a promise not to 
name him for the Presidency in any event. The Democratic mem- 
bers of the Legislature of New Jersey had subscribed a paper avow- 
ing their preference for him as a Presidential candidate. This paper, 



HIS OPINION OF POLITICAL NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. 195 

in conformity with his wishes, was never published. There are 
many good reasons to believe that had he been brought forward at 
that Convention as a candidate he would have received the nomina- 
tion. On the day before the nomination of General Pierce, a com- 
mittee of his friends waited on him and urgently solicited his con- 
sent to have his name presented by the New Jersey delegation. 
They expressed the utmost confidence in his nomination, even at that 
late hour, were it known that he was a candidate. He, however, 
peremptorily refused to sanction any such course. 

During the spring of 1852 he was indirectly approached by vari- 
ous parties to ascertain what would be his probable course if elected 
President. To all such parties his invariable response was, that he 
did not want to be President, that the office was neither consistent 
with his happiness or his interests, but that if, notwithstanding he 
declined to be a candidate, it should so happen that he were nomi- 
nated and elected, he intended to go into the office unpledged, uncom- 
promised, and entirely independent. Doubtless, the declaration of 
such manly and patriotic sentiments repelled from his support those 
whose chief object in the selection of a candidate was to find a man 
who would use the public patronage for the advancement of their 
interests. 

That the Commodore refused to permit his friends to submit his 
name to the Convention may also be ascribed to another reason. 
He is said to be of the opinion that these National Conventions which, 
of late years, have dictated to the people the candidates for whom 
alone practically they could vote, are usurpations of the popular 
prerogative ; that they are the machinery of a mere aristocracy of 
political leaders, constituted for the purpose of controlling and sub- 
jecting the popular will instead of truly and honestly reflecting 
and obeying it. The delegations from some of the States often neces- 
sarily represent but a minority of the people ; yet such delegations 
are permitted to enjoy an equal vote with the delegations of other 
States which represent actual and often large majorities. The fun- 
damental principles of republican equality are, therefore, violated 
in all such conventions. The people only are the rightful sources 
of authority and power, and from the people only should emanate 
the controlling voice which should determine the election of the 
chief magistrate of the Republic. The present system of National 
Conventions has become (as the old Congressional Presidential 
caucus was before it) a mere instrument of cliques of politicians, to 
control and use the patronage and offices of the Grovernment. The 
abolition of the system is only a question of time. It will be 



106 ins OPINION ^ rRESIDENTIAL DUTIES. 

abolished as soon as the people discover the imposition bj ^hich 
they arc at present subjugated to work out the will and pleasure of 
a few men of corrupt and grasping ambition. The people only sub- 
mit to it because, with good-natured credulity, they have believed 
that Conventions were what they profess to be — their humble 
servants. 

Whatever may have been the cause, there is no doubt of the fact 
that the Commodore did, in the most peremptory terms, refuse to 
permit the New Jersey delegation to submit his name as a candidate 
to the Convention.* 

Whether the proper inference from this reluctance on his part, in 
1852, to be made a candidate is, that he has no ambition for the 
Presidency, we know not. But we do know that on various occa- 
sions, for several years, he has suppressed, rather than encouraged, 
the efforts of his friends to make him a candidate for the Presidency. 

He has been heard frequently to say that the responsibilities of a 
President are of such magnitude that no man ought to seek them ; 
that the office could add nothing to his happiness or that of his 
family; that it is a position in which the performance of duty might 
require a man to oifend his friends and do violence to his own feel- 
ings of clemency and generosity ; that it is hardly possible for a 
President to do justice to the people and the country and not offend 
the politicians, or to obtain the support of the latter and faithfully 
perform his duties to the former ; and that no man is fit for the 
office who is not Avilling to brave every danger, encounter all injus- 
tice, and incur every aspersion fearlessly in doing what is right; 
that, entertaining these opinions, he does not consider the office of 
President a position to be coveted by any man, while it is the duty 
of most men who are incompetent to fill it properly, promptly to de- 
cline it when its acceptance must prove detrimental to themselves as 
well as their country. 

It will be perceived, from these opinions, that he does not agree 
with Mr. Lowndes and General Jackson in the sentiment originally 
uttered by the former: — "that the Presidency should neither be 
souc/ht nor declined.'' lie is of opinion that it is the duty of every 
true patriot and honest man to decline that position if he does not 
believe himself to be capable of discharging its duties honourably 
to himself and justly and faithfully to the country 

Whatever may be his own views respecting his qualifications for 

* We have collected several extracts from the papers of 1852, indicative of the 
general desire in many quarters for the nomination of Commodore Stockton. See 
Appendix, page -30. 



RESIGNS HIS SEAT IN THE SENATE. 197 

the office of President, It is not to be questioned that numbers in 
all sections of the country believe him to be eminently qualified for 
that position. That he possesses administrative as well as executive 
talents of a high order cannot be doubted ; and that his moral in- 
tegrity is of that lofty standard which distinguished the era of 
Washington, must be felt and confessed by all who know the man. 

The future historian of this age of the Republic, should he fail to 
find the name of Stockton on the roll of Presidents, will not ascribe 
its absence there to his deficiency in the highest qualifications; he 
will rather ascribe it to the demoralizing influence of faction, which 
seeks its own gratification at the expense of the public welfare, and 
recoils with instinctive aversion from the patriot who would make 
virtue and honour and talents the criteria of promotion to office. 

Near the close of the second session of Congress after his elec- 
tion. Commodore Stockton, notwithstanding the most earnest re- 
monstrances of his friends, resigned his seat in the Senate. He had 
been sufficiently long at Washington to ascertain that the turmoil 
of political life there had no charms for him, compared with those 
of private life. 

His retirement was universally regretted by the members of the 
distinguished body in which, during his short term of service, he 
had occupied so distinguished a position. During that term he cer- 
tainly surpassed the expectations of his most sanguine friends. He 
acquired a reputation as a statesman and a senator commensurate 
with his fame as a naval commander. 

His resignation was imputed by some to an expectation of receiv- 
ing an invitation to enter the Cabinet of Mr. Pierce. There were 
never any grounds for such an imputation. Public opinion did in- 
deed manifest itself very distinctly in favour of his being assigned 
the post of Secretary of the Navy.* But, disapproving, as it is well 
known he did, the principles indicated by the formation of the ad- 
ministration, it is not likely that he would have been willing to 
accept any such appointment. Certainly, if he had entered the 
Cabinet of Mr. Pierce, its course, both with respect to foreign 
and domestic affairs, would have been different from the policy pur- 
sued, or else the Commodore would soon have abandoned it. 

* See Appendix. 



198 STATE OF PARTIES IN 1854. 



CHAPTER XV. 

state of parties in 1854 their threatened dissolution the american 

party motives for the repeal of the missouri restriction — commodore 

Stockton's opinions of the repeal — political opinions on other subjects 

his speech at TRENTON ENCOMIUM ON MR. WEBSTER — MISREPRESENTATION 

OF THE SPEECH — THE SENTIMENTS OF THE SPEECH NOW GENERALLY APPROVED 
— THE AMERICAN MOVEMENT COMMODORE STOCKTON'S AMERICAN LETTER. 

Since the resignation of his seat in the Senate of the United 
States, Commodore Stockton has not taken any active part in 
politicjil affairs. 

As an original advocate of the Compromise measures of 1850, 
however, it has been known that he disapproved the manner in 
which the friends of those measures have been treated by the 
administration. 

The maintenance and advocacy of those measures, as a final set- 
tlement of the sectional question which has so long agitated the 
country, brought General Pierce into power. It was hoped and 
believed that his administration would be national ; but, from its 
inception, sectional partisans were particularly the objects of Presi- 
dential favour. The peculiar friends of Mr. Van Buren at the 
North and the most strenuous champions of secession at the South 
were admitted to his confidence. 

The President discovered, in 1854, that he had alienated and dis- 
gusted the greater part of those to whose support he was indebted 
for his election. He perceived that he had lost the South, and that 
the entire party which had elected him was in imminent danger of 
dissolution. 

The Whig party, it was pretty generally understood, was broken 
up. It had, therefore, ceased, by its antagonism, to operate on the 
cohesion of the Democratic party. As in 1824, after the Federal 
party became extinct, the Democratic party separated into hostile 
fragments ; so in 1854, for the want of a national opponent, its 
disorganization seemed inevitable. 

The political managers, whose secret intrigues had procured 
the nomination of President Pierce in 1852, became alarmed with 
the prospect of a change of administration in 1856. Aspirants 



REPEAL OF THE MISSOUKI COMPROMISE. 199 

for the Presidency also (including the present incumbent) foresaw 
in the dissolution of parties, helped on by the unpopularity of the 
administration, their probable inability to control the people in the 
choice of a President in 1856. 

The American sentiment of the country had been outraged by 
the marked distinction with which citizens of foreign birth had been 
preferred by the President ; and a great American party had arisen 
which threatened to absorb all other party organizations. 

To check the growth of this new party, and to consolidate the 
South in support of the President, or some nominee of his party, a 
scheme was formed to revive the anti-slavery agitation. 

The REPEAL of the Missouri restriction it was thought would 
accomplish these objects. The scheme was bold and ingenious ; 
and, though its injustice and immorality cannot be palliated or 
denied, it must be pronounced one of the most dexterous political 
movements ever made in the history of American parties. It was 
calculated that the South would be unable to resist so seductive an 
offer. It was supposed, too, that the national men in the free 
States, who were committed in favour of popular sovereignty in the 
territories, might be induced to approve the repeal, while large 
masses of others would be controlled by party discipline. 

The Missouri restriction was repealed upon the ground that it 
was an unconstitutional exercise of power by Congress. 

Though originally a Southern measure, by means of which the 
admission of Missouri as a State of the Union had been secured, 
yet the prevailing opinion at the South was, that the Missouri Com- 
promise was unconstitutional. 

The issue, therefore, tendered, was. Should an unconstitutional 
law be sustained ? 

The free States, however, have, for the most part, declined the 
issue so adroitly presented. The novelty of deciding the constitu- 
tionality of a law by a Presidential election has had few advocates 
in those States. 

If the restriction were unconstitutional, it constituted no impedi- 
ment to the extension of slavery. It was obviously the province 
of those who held that doctrine to test its soundness by a case in 
the courts. 

But it is well understood that the Missouri Compromise was a 
bargain for the sake of peace, without any reference to the ques- 
tion of its constitutionality. 

The calculations of the President and his friends respecting the 
effect of the repeal upon the South do not appear to have been 



200 Stockton's opinion of the repeal. 

erroneous. But they did not estimate so nicely its effect in the free 
States. There it has heen ahnost universally considered as a gross 
breach of faith. 

Whatever may be the course of professional politicians in those 
States, the people generally cannot be persuaded to approve a mea- 
sure which they look upon as an indignity offered to them for the 
purpose of securing a sectional triumph.. 

Commodore Stockton has not been called upon to express his 
opinions on this subject ; but it is known in New Jersey and Phila- 
delphia that, from the beginning, he considered it as an insult to the 
free States, as well as a violation of a compact founded on honour 
and good faith. The Missouri Compromise he viewed as an honour- 
able adjustment of a dangerous question. There were no reasons 
for its abrogation, which were not known when it was established. 
The pro-slavery and the anti-slavery sections were equally bound in 
honour to adhere to that settlement. The South had received and 
were in the enjoyment of the consideration of the bargain. Its 
obligation, resting in honour, good faith, and political comity, was 
not to be impeached by questioning its conformity to the Constitu- 
tion. If unconstitutional, it was no restriction in conflict with the 
rights of any section. Its unconstitutionality might at any time 
be tested in the Supreme Court. It was a treaty of peace between 
the two great sections of the Republic, which could not, without 
the violation of plighted faith, be disturbed, unless with the univer- 
sal consent of the country. 

The abstract doctrine of non-intervention, which he so ably vindi- 
cates in his letter to Mr. AVebster, has therefore nothing to do with, 
and is not in any degree involved in, the question as to the justice 
and expediency of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. We 
have no authority for defining the position of Commodore Stockton 
on this or any other subject ; and, in what we have said in relation 
to his opinions on the Missouri Compromise, we have only stated 
what are the views imputed to him by those leading gentlemen 
among his friends in New Jersey, who, from their connection with 
him, are likely to possess a correct knowledge of his sentiments. 

After perusing the speeches and letters which will be found in the 
sequel to these pages, the reader will know pretty accurately what 
are the opinions of Commodore Stockton on most questions of 
national importance. He has never been very scrupulous about 
saying what he thought on all subjects which he has at any time 
discussed. 

Even when the sycophants of extreme opinions were proclaiming 



HIS VIEWS ON PROTECTION. 201 

free trade to be the only standard of Democratic orthodoxy with 
regard to the tariff, he freely avowed those liberal and national 
doctrines on that subject which were held by the Democratic party 
in 1828-29 upon the advent to power of General Jackson. Stock- 
ton has always held that the true national policy consisted in ren- 
dering the United States entirely independent of other countries 
for all those products and manufactures which were necessary or 
useful for purposes of naval or military defence. He has on this 
account always advocated ample protection to the production and 
fabrications of iron.* 

He has also maintained that of all other interests those of Ame- 
rican labour were those which had the best right to national encou- 
ragement, on account not only of their superior magnitude and 
importance, but because of the obligation resting on the Govern- 
ment to foster and protect them as the only true foundation of 
national wealth and prosperity. 

On the subject of encouraging internal improvements by the 
Federal Government, he likewise occupies the Jacksonian ground. 
Works of a national character, such as the improvement of the 
Mississippi and Ohio, and the Atlantic rivers as high as tide-water 
ebbs and flows, he believes entitled to national assistance. 

Upon the question of preserving intact and unimpaired the re- 
served rights of the States and of the people, his opinions are on 
record in the most explicit form. Indeed, the preservation of the 
Union he considers dependent on the undiminished plenitude of 
State and popular rights, as they were left or adjusted by the Con- 
stitution when it came fresh from the hands of the patriots who 
formed it. The disregard of reserved rights by the National Go- 
vernment — any attempt on its part to assume powers not granted, 
if acquiesced in — would unquestionably lead to oppression and in- 
justice by tyrannical majorities, resistance to which would involve 
civil war and disruption of the confederacy. 

In the spring of 1852, Mr. Webster, being in Trenton during the 
session of the Legislature, was invited by a joint resolution of both 
houses of that body to a formal reception. It was at a time when 
Mr. Webster was the object of severe denunciation by the opponents 
of the Compromise measures, and the Legislature of New Jersey, 
then composed of a large majority of Democrats, embraced that 
opportunity to honour him for his national course with respect 
to those measures. 

* See Speech on Tariff. 



202 SPEECH ON TUR RECEPTION OF WEBSTER. 

Commodore Stockton, having arrived in Trenton the evening 
before the reception-day, was waited on by the Governor and the 
Legislative committee, and invited to attend and witness the cere- 
mony, lie was present, therefore, on the occasion as an invited 
guest. 

When the reception had taken phice and Mr. Webster had con- 
cluded his remarks in reply to the address of the president of the 
Senate, the Commodore left the House of the Assembly in com- 
pany with Mr. Webster, though called upon importunately for a 
speech. But, before he had escaped from the State Capitol, several 
of his personal friends took him by the arm and insisted that he 
should return and address the audience, who were extremely de- 
sirous to hear him. 

He accordingly returned and spoke for a few minutes in his usual 
frank and unaffected manner. His remarks were reported by a 
political opponent, who strangely tortured his language, or rather 
caricatured it, so as to make it as offensive as possible to his politi- 
cal friends. As the Commodore was at this time considered more 
likely than any prominent man not an avowed candidate to be the 
choice of the National Democratic Convention, any political speech 
of his was, of course, seized with avidity by the press and circu- 
lated without limit. The first report, therefore, got the start of the 
genuine article, and those who secretly desired the nomination of 
General Cass, Mr. Buchanan, or Mr. Douglas, or others, all 
affected surprise and astonishment and regret that Commodore 
Stockton should have blasted his own Presidential prospects. 

The Commodore took the matter quite coolly, however. He had 
no Presidential aspirations which could prevent him from expressing 
with the most unbounded freedom the sentiments of his heart and 
the conclusions of his understanding. When analyzed, the objec- 
tions to this speech amount to nothing more than objections to 
his eulogium on Mr. Webster, to his expression of the sentiment 
" that when the honour, welfare, and happiness of his country were 
at issue his party robes hung loosely on his shoulders," and to his 
avowal that xVmerican labour was entitled to protection. 

In the appendix to these pages will be found his remarks on the 
death of Mr. Webster in the Senate, in the course of which he 
reminded senators (some of whom, doubtless, had lifted up their 
eyes in serious horror at the Trenton speech) that he dared to say 
of Mr. Webster when alive what so many senators were now anx- 
ious to say when he was dead. It was a rebuke which was felt and 

* See Appendix E. 



HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR WEBSTER. 203 

appreciated by all who heard this last tribute of Stockton to his 
departed friend. 

Mr. Webster had been the friend of the Commodore's father for 
twenty years ; he had been his friend also for near forty years ; he 
had been his counsel in important suits, involving his conduct as an 
officer as well as his fortune ; their social intercourse, frequent and 
cordial, had never suffered any interruption, though their political 
associations had, for the most part, been adverse. Under these cir- 
cumstances, had the Presidency, during life, depended on his ab- 
staining from rendering to Mr. Webster the homage of his heart 
whenever he spoke of him, Stockton would have spoken all the 
generous feelings which he cherished towards him with the same 
unrestrained freedom that he spoke at Trenton. 

The sentiments which Stockton expressed with regard to Web- 
ster are the sentiments of the nation ; of every honest man and 
patriot who loves the Constitution, (of which Webster earned the 
title of Defender ;) of every friend of the Union, of which Mr. 
Webster Avas the champion in its hours of greatest peril. No man, 
Whig or Democrat, can be a sincere friend to the Constitution and 
the Union and not feel grateful to Mr. Webster for the courage and 
ability which he always manifested in their defence. Ignoble, nar- 
row-minded, and mole-eyed political opponents may delight to 
dwell on Mr. Webster's points of difference with the Democratic 
party, and may still cherish some of those feelings of animosity 
towards him which they felt in former days of partisan contro- 
versy; but the generous, high-minded American, to whatever party 
he may belong, proud that his country produced an intellectual 
giant of Mr. Webster's mental power, would much prefer to remem- 
ber his achievements "for the country and the whole country," 
when he stood up the champion of the Union against nullification ; 
when, in that conflict, he stood side by side with Andrew Jackson 
"and felt his own great arm lean on him for support;"* when he 
negotiated the Ashburton Treaty ; when he forever crushed and 
annihilated the British pretension of search on American ships ; 
and when, hoary with age and crowned with honours, tottering on the 
brink of eternity, on the 7th of March, 1850, he sacrificed himself 
in the service of his country to the remorseless Moloch of sectional 
faction which, with relentless ferocity, " tracked his steps of glory 
to the grave." 

As to the sentiment that, when the honour and welfare of the 

* Webster's Speech in the Senate, Jan. 26, 1830. 



204 stockion's intrepidity. 

country are concerned, his party robes hang loosely, no man who 
can understand his meaning will controvert the justice and propriety 
of the declaration. No good citizen will deny that, where his duty 
to the country comes in conflict with partisan opinions or measures, 
the obligations of duty are paramount; nay, the most rancorous 
and Pharisaical devotee of party politics will not dare to say that 
party allegiance is superior to the allegiance of the citizen to the 
country.* But nevertheless, not withstanding the soundness of the 
principle, political empirics affected to be shocked with the declara- 
tion of the principle at the time. And this well illustrates the dif- 
ference between Commodore Stockton and ordinary politicians. 

They would often suppress their acknowledgment of a correct 
principle for fear that it might prove injurious to their prospects. 
Stockton will not shrink from the avowal of such a principle on the 
proper occasion, no matter what may be the consequences to him- 
self personally. 

Courage — undaunted intrepidity, which is incapable of any thing 
like fear — is, perhaps, the most distinguishing trait of Commodore 
Stockton. This defiant courage makes him, in relation to his po- 
litical course, as daring and as chivalrous as he is in the field. In 
relation to action in the field, whether with the enemy of his coun- 
try or his own personal foe, the reader will perceive in this narra- 
tive of his career that wherever danger was visible, Stockton ad- 
vanced to meet it. He never waits passively to be placed on his 
defence, but is always the assailant. He approaches danger ; he 
does not wait to be approached by it. He prefers storming his 
adversary's position to being besieged behind his own ramparts. 

When, therefore, in the course of his political life, he has medi- 
tated a movement which he was convinced was right, but which 
others would naturally pronounce fatal to his imputed political 
aspirations, we do not doubt that, independently of the gratifica- 
tion of doing what he considered right, the risk to be encountered 
rather increased the charm with which duty irresistibly drew him 
on in the path to which she pointed. 

From this it appears that, although he loves glory, yet the 
glory which he worships is the glory of doing right — the glory 
of performing his duty and his whole duty. He did not, therefore, 
when he gave aid and comfort to the Native Americans of Phila- 
delphia in 1845, do so for popularity or political eftect. He 
espoused their cause because he thought it right ; and he never 

* See Speech in Appendix. 



THE DEMOCRATIC AND AMERICAN PARTIES. 205 

shrunk, under any circumstances, from avowing his concord with 
them. In his speech of December 31, 1847, before a promiscuous 
assembly of men of all parties, we find him boldly proclaiming the 
tenets of the Americans, and challenging for them the assent of all 
present. He avowed them then because he believed them to be 
right — not because they were the creed of a party. 

In 1854, when the probability of his being the Democratic nomi- 
nee of the Cincinnati National Convention to assemble in June, 
1856, was quite as great as that any one else would be nominated, 
we find him again, as soon as he was interrogated, fearlessly de- 
claring his assent to the principles which he had before approved. 
In doing this he disavows no opinions or principles which he has 
heretofore advocated. When these opinions were thus reiterated 
by him, it was, indeed, indicated by the general sentiment developed 
throughout the country that the Democratic party would feel con- 
strained to adopt them. 

Sympathizing, as that party generally does, with the highest- 
toned and most radically patriotic emotions, and generally conform- 
ing to the will of the masses, the politicians found it necessary to 
make great efi"orts to prevent its becoming Americanized. 

The administration came to their aid by the repeal of the Mis- 
souri Restitution. 

As one irritant is applied by physicians to correct another, so the 
excitement produced by the abrogation of the Missouri Compromise 
checked and superseded the excitement produced by the first demon- 
strations of the American party. 

The opponents of the repeal, the remnants of the Whig party and 
other sectional organizations in New England, rushed impetuously 
into the American lodges and took possession of them. They sought 
to make the American party auxiliary to the sectional controversy 
now revived. These circumstances, together with the preponder- 
ance of the foreign element in the Democratic party, efiectually 
arrested any further open demonstrations in its ranks in favour of 
the American movement. 

It is not improbable that if it had not been for these extraordi- 
nary causes the Democratic party could not have been forced by its 
leaders to commit itself so precipitately against the Americans. It 
might have been persuaded temperately and judiciously to have con- 
sented to the reform or modification of some of those laws of which 
the Americans complain, and, under happier auspices, an adjustment 
of the great national questions which the American party have 



200 Stockton's avo\lil of American principles, 

raised might have been eflfected without the struggle which it must 
Qow cost. 

It remains to be seen whether the leaders and tacticians of the 
Democratic party have not merely postponed, instead of having de- 
feated, the success of the Americans. It may well be doubted 
whether those politicians have not miscalculated the strength of 
party drill and cohesion, and whether they can prevent the great 
body of the Democratic masses from falling into the American ranks 
under a suitable leader. 

Whatever may be the present aspect of the American party, its 
ultimate success admits of no doubt. It is absurd to suppose that 
the people of the United States will much longer tolerate the parti- 
cipation of their sovereignty with those hordes of incompetent aliens 
annually swarming to our shores. Human nature is incapable of 
persistence in such folly. It is inconsistent with the principle of 
self-preservation — the highest of all laws. 

Commodore Stockton, when he avowed his American opinions, 
neither knew (nor, we suppose, did he care) whether the Whig, 
Democratic, or any other party, concurred with him. He avowed 
them because he entertained them, and because he believed them to 
be right. In doing this he probably never calculated the conse- 
quences to himself, and, if he did, it was to disregard them. He acted 
with the same boldness as when in the Senate, the youngest member 
of that body, he stood up first and declared — what no senator before 
him had the courage to do, (in relation to the Kossuth excitement,) 
— that war with Russia, on account of Hungary, was a Utopian idea; 
that it was utterly impracticable. This declaration, though it 
startled his auditors, found an echo in the common sense of every 
senator. And so, likewise, whatever professional party men may 
now say, the American sentiments, and the high patriotic tone of 
the following letter, addressed to a committee of Americans, will 
find an echo in all true American hearts ; and they will honour and 
respect the author, however circumstances may render it expedient 
that they should now appear to differ with him : — 

LETTER OF COMMODORE STOCKTON TO THE AMERICANS OF TRENTON. 

"Trenton, November 13, 1855. 

" Hon. R. F. Stockton, Princeton : 

"Dear Sir: — The Americans of Trenton intend to hold a meet 
ing on Friday evening, the 16th inst., to celebrate the recent vic- 
tories of the American party in California, New York, Massachu 



REPLY TO TRENTON COMMITTEE OF INVITATION. 207 

setts, and Maryland, and to commemorate the principles of the 
American party. 

<'It is well known that you have for years approved these prin- 
ciples ; therefore, you are earnestly invited to be present and to 
address your fellow-citizens on that occasion. 

« With great respect, your obedient servants, 

"E. H. Grandin, 
"RiCHD. Brandt, 
■« Henry C. Furman, 
« Chas. M. Whittaker, 
"J. C. Langstine, 
«Wm. R. Burns, 

<■<■ Committee of Invitation.''^ 



' Princeton, November 14, 1855. 

« To Messrs. E. H. Grandin, Richard Brandt, Henry C. Fur- 
man, Charles M. Whittaker, J. C. Langstine, William R. 
Burns, Committee of Invitation: — 

« Gentlemen : — I am informed by your letter of yesterday, that 
a meeting is to be held at Trenton on Friday, the 16th instant, 
commemorative of the principles of the American party. You also 
say ' that it is well known that you have for several years approved 
those principles, therefore you are earnestly invited to be present 
and to address your fellow- citizens on that occasion.' I thank you 
for the invitation, although previous engagements will prevent my 
being present. 

" I am unwilling, however, to permit the occasion to pass without 
expressing my entire concurrence in the patriotic principles of the 
American party, which have had for so many years the approval of 
my head and heart. They are 

^^ First. The Constitution with its Compromises. 

" Second. The preservation of the Union at all hazards. 

^<-Third. The naturalization laws should be abolished or essentially 
modified. 

i^Fourth. Americans alone should rule America. They only should 
be appointed to the high and responsible executive offices under our 
Government. 

" The men of the Revolution, notwithstanding they gratefully ac- 
knowledged the aid derived from France, were fully sensible of the 
dangers of foreign influence. They incorporated in both the Federal 



208 REl'LY TO TRENTON COMMITTEE OF INVITATION. 

and State Constitutions provisions carefully designed as barriers 
against the influence of any foreign ingredient in the population. 
The protracted war which succeeded the French Revolution power- 
fully affected the public mind in the United States, and political 
parties were more or less biassed in favour of one or the other belli- 
gerent. It required the whole weight of the great Washington's 
character to prevent the young republic from being entangled in 
the meshes of European politics. His wisdom enabled him justly to 
appreciate the desire which has always characterized republican 
governments to become more or less subject, in one way or 
another, to foreign influence. The events of his age, however, 
directed his attention to the counteraction of that influence, exerted 
in a different manner from that in which it now threatens our safety. 
The foreign influence which justly alarmed him arose from the 
sympathy of our people with one or the other of the mighty powers 
who were contending, as both claimed to be, for liberty and for 
political predominance in Europe. 

" Washington did not anticipate that, in half a century from his 
age, Europe would be brought within ten days' sail of America, or 
that within that period half a million of foreigners annually would 
come to exercise the prerogatives of American sovereigns. Had 
such a state of things been presented to him, his warning voice 
would have been heard on the subject, and would have inspired our 
statesmen Avith the wisdom and the courage to avert the danger 
which he would have foreseen. Such was the jealous virtue and 
patriotism which distinguished the Washington era, that, had the 
immigration of that period been one-tenth of what it has now be- 
come, it is more than probable that no power would have been 
granted by the people to the Federal Government to enact any laws 
of naturalization. 

"The evil is upon us which Washington deprecated. The evil is 
radical, and the correction must be equally radical. We must 
awaken in the public mind that sensitive regard for the preserva- 
tion of the Constitution and American liberty which inspired the 
souls of those patriots who were the counsellors and supporters of 
Washington and the fathers of the country. The safetij and pros- 
perity of our iyistitutions must be made the cardinal objects of at- 
tainment. The spoils of ofiice, the love of power, the subjection to 
the iron tyranny of a few political oligarchs, must be held in con- 
tempt in comparison with the importance of securing these great 
ends. The crafty engineers of political speculation see no danger, 
and never will see any, which does not threaten to arrest their 



REPLY TO TRENTON COMMITTEE OF INVITATION. 209 

profitable control of parties. The doctrine that ^Americans alone 
should rule America,' designed to restore the government, as it 
was in the days of Washington, to the hands of 'Americans alone,' 
is stigmatized by the organized cabal of politicians who wield 
the machinery for manufacturing the incumbents of office, from 
that of the Presidency downwards, as a pestilent heresy, and 
those who hold to this ancient American doctrine are denounced 
as traitors. 

" The progress of events is rapidly bringing the country Jo the 
condition when but two parties will contend with each other — 
the one the American parti/, the other the Foreign party. The 
American party will seek the restoration of the Government to 
American control, such as it was when it came fresh from the 
American people. The Foreign party will seek to propitiate the 
foreign element, pander to its insolent ambition and aspiring pre- 
dominance, contend for the continuance and extension of its 
privileges, cringe with servility to its dictates, and offer new 
bribes for its friendship. The simple fact that the next election 
of a President of the United States may turn upon the assertion 
or the renunciation by the American people of the doctrine that 
< Americans alone should rule America,' should be sufficient to 
astonish and alarm us. If the doctrine be renounced, it will be 
owing to the overpowering force of the foreign element in our 
population. The mighty power of that element has been gauged 
by the astute politicians who are allied to it. They have mea- 
sured its length and breadth, its height and its depth, and they 
are willing to stake their destinies on its omnipotence. It was 
the Pretorian guards, composed of foreign mercenaries, who put 
up for sale the imperial purple at Rome ; and it is the foreign mer- 
cenaries among us who now offer to the politicians who hold the 
reins of party sway the next Presidency, as the price of favours to 
be conferred on them and privileges perpetuated hereafter. There 
is no country — there never has been any country — where such an 
issue, if squarely, fairly, and distinctly presented to the people, 
could be decided any other than one way, and that in favour of 
the ^country-horn.' Will the people of the United States repudi- 
ate a sentiment of this sort ? They will do no such thing. Already 
they have arisen spontaneously and rushed to the standard in- 
scribed with the words, 'The Americans shall rule America.' It 
is vain for politicians to attempt to arrest the progress of the 
American party by efforts to compel it to adopt portions of the 
creeds which distinguish other parties. 

14 



210 REPLY TO TRENTON COMMITTEE OF INVITATION. 

" It will not thus be induced to endanger the cause in which it 
is engaged. The safety of the people is the supreme law, and, while 
that safety is endangered, every thing else is of subordinate interest. 
* Place none but Americans on guard' was the order of Washington 
at a crisis of imminent danger. 

" With assurances of high regard, 

" I am your friend and obedient servant, 

<'R. F. Stockton." 



APPENDIX A. 



Paris of the Report of the Secretary of the Navy, communicating 
copies of Commodore Stockton's despatches relating to the military 
and naval operations in California. 

Navy Department, February 14, 1849. 
Sir: — In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 8th instant, I have 
the honour to communicate herewith " a copy of the despatch of the 5th of Feb- 
ruary, 1847, of Commodore Robert F. Stockton, commanding the forces of the 
United States in California," together with copies of " such other despatches of 
Commodore Stockton relating to the naval and military operations in that coun- 
try as have not heretofore been communicated to Congress and published." 
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. Y. Mason. 
Hon. George M. Dallas, 

Vice-President of the United States 

and President of the Senate. 



United States Frigate Congress, 
Bay of Monterey, September 18, 1846. 

Sir: — I have the lionour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches of^the 
15th of May, addressed to my predecessor, and sent by Passed Midshipman 
McRae, whu delivered them to me on board of this ship on the night of the 7th 
of September, soon after we came to anchor in the bay of " Santa Barbara," 
where I stopped on my way to this place to take on board a detachment of men 
which I left for the defence of that place, after we had taken it on our way to 
San Pedro. 

I am happy to say, in answer to that despatch, that all your instructions con- 
tained therein had been anticipated and executed, and my proceedings forwarded 
to you by different routes two weeks before the arrival of Mr. McRae — even that 
part of them suggesting that a messenger be sent across the mountains to Wash- 
ington : which messenger I hope you will have seen and sent back to me before 
this can reach you. 

I send enclosed the correspondence between General Castro and myself. I 
did not answer his last letter, but by a verbal message, which does not properly 
belong to history. We found in and near his camp ten pieces of artillery — -six 
in good order, and four spiked. 

The elections as far as heard from have been regularly held, and the proper 
officers elected. The people are getting over their first alarm, and our friends 
are not now afraid to avow themselves. 

General Castro and the governor having collected at one time so large a force 
together, and our remaining inactive at Monterey, induced the belief that we 
were not willing to run the hazard of a tight, and that if we did we must be 
beaten. No one, foreigner or native, dared aid us even with advice or informa- 
tion. 

1 



# 



PENDIX A. 



But, since Castro and the {rovernor have been driven out of the country, the 
aspect of thinjjs is chanjxed, and all is going on as well as we ought to desire. 

By an intercepted correspondence between the military comnuindant at Ma- 
zatlan and General Castro, it appears that arrangements were making to send 
troops into Calif irnia, and General Castro is strongly urged to destroy the "ne- 
farious enemy." But it is too late. 

I take the opportunity of this communication to remind you of two things 
that may be of some importance to be remembered. 

1. That neither San Francisco or Monterey are susceptible, within any reason- 
able e.x|>onse, of being defended from an attack made from the interior; every 
commaiuiing position within reach of a cannon-ball from the water is overlooked 
by adj.acent hills, within gunshot. We must, therefore, hold the country along 
the sea-coast as far south as St. Lucas, and make the river Gila and a line 
drawn from that river across to the Del Norte the southern boundary, all of 
which is now in our possession. It is not my business, perhaps, to say more on 
the subject. I will send you, however, a map which I have made, and on which 
I have traced with red ink the boundary lino above suggested. 

2. That this territory within the lines marked by me should be retained by 
the United States, as indispensable to preserve the lives and property of our 
fellow-citizens residing here, as well as to secure any thing like permanent peace. 

I have put some guns on board the store-ship "Erie," and made a cruiser of 
her. She will sail on a cruise immediately, to circulate the enclosed notice and 
to look out for privateers, and will touch at Panama to deliver and receive de- 
spatches. 

As soon as the schooner Shark returns from the Columbia River, I will send 
her on a cruise for the protection of our whale-ships. 

The Savannah, Portsmouth, and Cyane will continue the blockade of the 
coast of Mexico, while I will in the Congress go up the Gulf of California and 
ay my respects to San Jose, La Paz, Loreto, and Guaymas, thence along the 
lexican coast, thence to the Sandwich Islands, thence to San Francisco. 

The Warren will be obliged to lay by for extensive repairs. 

By which disposition of the squadron I hope to meet your approbation, as 
well .as the views of Mr. AVolistcr and his friends, who signed the letter to the 
President ahich I found among your last despatches. Besides, I will order the 
ships of the blockading squadron occasionally to change their ground and take 
a cruise, one after the other, for the protection of the whalers. By these courses 
wo will cross each other's track, and so traverse the ocean as to render it some- 
what hazardous for a privateer to be dodging about within our circle. 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, Commodore, dec. 

Your letter to Commodore Biddle will be sent to the Sandwich Islands by the 
American ship Brooklyn, which leaves this place in a day or two for Honolulu. 

Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secreiaiy of the Navy, WashingUm, D. C. 



I 



CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, August 31, 1846. 

Sir: — I herewith enclose to you your commission as military commandant of 
this department. 

Martial law will continue in force throughout the whole territory, until other- 
wise ordered by the governor of the same. 

Notwithstanding, however, the existence of martial law, you will permit the 
civil officers of the government to proceed in the exercise of their proper func- 
tions, nor will you interfere with their duties, excejit in cases where the peace 
and sai'ety of the territory requires your aid or interference. 

You will take care that my proclamation of the 17th be strictly observed 
throuji;iii)ut this department, except as to those persons who may be exempted 
by your written order from the operation of its provisions. 



APPENDIX A. 6 

You are authorized, whenever it can lie prudently done, to give written per- 
mission to persons known to be friendly to the government to be out them- 
eelves, and to send their servants out beture sunrise in the morning. 

You are likewise authorized to grant permission, where you see tit, to persona 
known to be friendly, t > carry arms with them, whenever it appears to you they 
stand in need of them for their own or their servants' protection. 

I enclose 1 1 you, also, some blank commissions for prefects and alcaldes, that, 
in case the people sh mid fail to elect either of those officers within the juris- 
diction of tbis department, you may fill up the blank with the name of some 
one you may think is qualified and will accept the office, affixing the date 
thereto, and transmitting to me at San Francisco, bv the first opportunity, the 
name and date of all appointments made by you. 

Whenever opportunity offers, you will write to me as to the state of the coun- 
try and the feelings of the people within this department. 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

K. F. Stockton, 
Governor and Commander-in-chief. 

To Captain A. H. Gillespie, 

Military Commandant of the Southern Department. 

P. S. — Sent that you may see how I have tempered the rigours of indispensable 
military law with the appliances of peace. 

R. F. Stockton. 



Organization of the Army of California. 



GENERAL ORDER. 



Besides the governor and commander-in-chief, there will be from this day a 
military commandant of the territory of California, whose duty it will be to 
superintend and direct all the military operations in the territory, according to 
the directions that he may from time to time receive from the governor, to whom 
he will report all his proceedings. The territory will hereafter be divided into 
three military departments, to each of which will be appointed a military com- 
mandant, who will receive instructions from and be responsible to the military 
commandant of the territory. 

R. F. Stockton, 
Governor and Commander-in-chief of the Territory of California. 

CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, September 2, 1846. 



CIRCULAR. 

You are hereby advised that war exists between the United States of North 
America and Mexico, and are cautioned to guard against an attack from Mexi- 
can privateers, and all vessels under the Mexican flag. 

The territory of California has been taken possession of by the forces under 
my command, and now belongs to the United States ; and you will find safe an- 
chorage and protection in the harbour of San Francisco during any season of the 
year. 

R. F. Stockton, Commodore, <&c. 

United States Frigate Congress. 



# 



PENDIX A. 



United States Frigati. Congress, 
Bat of Monterey, September 19, \M6. 
Sir: — I am informed by express from Commander Montgomery, at >San Fran 
Cisco, that Suter's Fort, on tlie Sacramento, is threatened by u thousand Indians 
from the Oregon, of the Walla-WaUa tribe. 

The cause of their hostility appears to be this : about a year since one of their 
chiefs was deliberately nuird(Me<l at Suter's Fort by a man named Cook. 

The Erie is under way, and I have only time to say that I sliall go after them 
immediately with the crews of this ship and the Savannah, and 1 will give them 
satisfaction or a fight. 

Will you please to send to me, by Mr. Norris, a good spy-glass ? 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

11. F. Stockton, Commodore, &c. 
To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C. 



San Diego, Head-quarters of, &c. &c., 
November 23, 1846. 

Sir : — By the celebrated Mexican armed brig IMalek Adhel, which was cap- 
tured and taken out of the harbour of Mazatlan by the boats of the United States 
ship ^\ arren, 1 have the honour to send this despatch for you as far as Mazatlan, 
and to say that several other vessels — perhaps thirteen or fourteen — have been 
captured by the Cyane and Warren, official reports of which, however, have not 
yet reached me; but I have reason to hope and believe that every vessel by 
which our commerce in this ocean could probably be interrupted has been cap- 
tured by Commander Hull, in the AVarren, or Commander Dupont, in the Cyane. 

Those officers deserve praise for the manner in which they have blockaded 
and watched the Mexican coast during the most inclement season of the year. 

The enclosed letters, from No. 1 to 4, will acquaint you with the position of 
the squadron and the aflairs of this territory, as well as with my intentions in 
regard to the further prosecution of the war up to the 30th Septeml)er, when 
the intelligence reached me that all the Mexican officers in the territory, with 
the exception of one or two, had violated their oaths, and again taken up arms 
against the United States, with which insurrection, and the consequent altera- 
tion of all my preconcerted plans, it will be the further object of this despatch 
to make you acquainted. 

The war in California being, as I supposed, at an end, and having ordered the 
other ships of the squadron to the coast of Mexico, there to await my arrival, I 
was about to transfer the government of California to other hands, and to sail 
as soon as possible in the Congress for Acapulco, where I expected to land and 
lend our aid to the war in that part of Mexico, when I was informed by express 
that the Mexican officers had violated their oaths and commenced anew" the war 
by a midnight attack on the party of fifty men left at Ciudad de los Angeles. 

The enclosed proclamation. No. 5, signed by Jose Ma Flores, a captain in the 
Mexican army, and on parole, will give you some idea of the disposition of those 
depraved men. 

At this time Major Fremont had gone to the Sacramento to enlist men for me 
to take to Acapulc(->. I immediately sent to him to come to San Francisco, with 
as many men and saddles as he could get to embark in the ship Sterling, that 
we might by prompt action surprise the enemy at Santa Barbara, only three 
days' march from De los Angeles ; while I would go directly to San Pedro and 
march to the city, where I would certainly be able to calculate within a day or 
two the time I would receive his co-operation. 

While the necessary preparations were making to carry out this plan of sur- 
prise find at once to put down the insurrection, I ordered the Savannah (then 
under sailing onlers for the coast of Mexico) to go immediately to San Pedro, 
and ati'ord all the aid in her power to our little garrison at the city. 



APPENDIX A. 5 

I left San Francisco in company with the Sterling; but, having crossed the 
bar before her, I hove to till she came out, and then I steered with a fair wind 
down along the coast. On our way we spoke the ship Barnstable from Monterey 
with despatches from the commanding officer there, stating that Monterey 
would probably be attacked, and that he required immediate reinforcement. I 
went immediately to Monterey, leaving the Sterling with a fair wind on her way 
to Santa Barbara. 

I arrived the next day at Monterey, and landed two officers, Messrs. Baldwin 
and Johnston, with fifty men and three pieces of artillery ; and, having fortified 
the town against any probable force in California, I left for San Pedro, looking 
into Santa Barbara, as I passed, to see how the Sterling made out ; but she had 
not arrived, although she ought to have been there several days previous. 

I passed on to San Pedro, where I found the Savannah. Captain Mervine, 
commander of the Savannah, informed me that on his arrival there he found on 
board of the ship Vandalia the party of volunteers who had been besieged at the 
Pueblo, and to whose assistance he had been despatched, but who had been per- 
mitted by treaty to retire with their arms on board of this vessel ; that about 
two weeks before my arrival he had landed with his men and the above-men- 
tioned volunteers, and marched for the city ; that he met a body of mounted 
men with a field-piece, with whom he had an engagement ; that he had not 
taken any artillery with him, and they had driven him back to his ship, with 
the loss of four men killed and some wounded ; and that he had remained on 
board since that time waiting for me. 

He says that his officers and men behaved well; that they made several 
efforts to take the field-piece from the enemy, but they could not overtake it. 
In truth, nothing short of a locomotive engine can catch those well-mounted 
fellows. 

I did not like this proceeding or its probable consequences : but I have no 
more to say about it at present. Elated by this transient success, — which the 
enemy, with his usual want of veracity, magnified into a great victory, — they 
collected in large bodies on all the adjacent hills, and would not permit a hoof 
except their own horses to be within fifty miles of San Pedro. 

I had, however, agreed to land there, to be in readiness to co-operate with the 
forces under Major Fremont expected from Santa Barbara ; and therefore de- 
termined to do so in the face of their boasting insolence, and there again to 
hoist the glorious stars in the presence of their horse-covered hills. 

Orders were accordingly given to prepare to land the troops in the morning, 
and a party of the volunteers, as you will see by a general order here enclosed 
and marked No. 6, were ordered to land before daylight, to cover the general 
landing, which was to be made up a very steep bank and in the face of the 
enemy. 

The volunteers failed to land in time, in consequence of a fancied force of the 
enemy. Not so with the sailors and marines, who were ready in the boats 
alongside of the two ships, and whom, as soon as I discovered that the volunteers 
had not succeeded, I ordered to land. The boats of the Savannah were under 
the iumiediate command of Captain Mervine ; those of the Congress under the 
immediate command of Lieutenant-Commandant Livingston, and performed the 
service in a most gallant manner, being myself present. 

On our approach to the shore, the enemy fired a few muskets without harm 
and lied ; we took possession, and once more hoisted our flag at San Pedro. 
General order, marked No. 7, will show you how I estimated the conduct of the 
troops at the time. 

The troops remained encamped at that place for several days before the in- 
surgents, who covered the adjacent hills, and until both officers and men had 
become almost worn out by chasing and skirmishing with and watching them, 
and until I had given up all hope of the co-operation of Major Fremont. Be- 
sides, the enemy had driven ofi" every animal, man and beast, from that section 
of the country, and it was not possible, by any means in our power, to carry 
provisions for our march to the city. 

I resolved, therefore, to embark the troops, and waste no more time there, but 



A^p 



ENDIX A. 



to ^1 down South, and, if possible, to get animab somewhere along the coast 
hoftire the enemy eouM know or prevent it, and to mount my own men and 
march to the city by tlie Southern route. 

I left the S:ivaiiniih to look out for Major Fremont, and, taking the volunteers 
on board of the Congress, proceeded down the coast as far as San Diego, where 
Lieutenant Minor was in command. 

Two days after my arrival at San Diego, the Malek Adhel arrived from 
Monterey, with despatches from Major Fremont, in which he says: — "We met 
the Vandalia with information of the occurrences below. Mr. Howard repre- 
sented that the enemy had driven off 'all the horses and cattle, so that it would 
be imj)o*;sible to obtain either for transportation or supplies. Under the circum- 
stances, and in virtue of the discretionary authority you have given me, I judged 
it of paramount necessity to haul up immediately for this port, with the inten- 
tion to si;nd for all the men who could bo raised in the North and for the band 
of horses which I had left on the Cosumne. In the mean time we should be able 
to check the insurrection here, and procure horses and supplies, so as to be in 
readiness to march to the southward immediately on the arrival of our rein- 
forcements." 

On the receipt of this letter, having arranged with Lieutenant Minor to send 
a vessel down the coast for horses and cattle, I returned to San Pedro, and sent 
the Savannah back to Monterey, to facilitate, as far as I could, the preparations 
of Major Fremont. 

On my ix'turn at San Diego, I found that the expedition South had been suc- 
cessful, that the party had obtained about sixty useful horses, two hundred head 
of cattle, and five hundred sheep. 

On the afternoon of our arrival, the enemy, irritated, I suppose, by the loss 
of his animals, came down in considerable force and made an attack ; they were, 
however, soon driven back, with the loss of two men and horses killed, and four 
wounded. Those skirmishes or running fights are of almost daily occurrence ; 
since we have been here we have lost, as yet, but one man killed and one 
wounded. 

One hundred more horses will enable me to mount some of my own men, and, 
before long, I expect to be a general of dragoons, as well as commodore, governor, 
and com mander-in^ckiej'. 

I have been thus particular in this despatch, that you may see that all that 
unflinching labour and perseverance on my part, and inflexible patriotism and 
courage on the part of my officers and men, could do to suppress this rebellion, 
has been done, and that, although we may still be for some time annoyed by 
those daily .skirmishes, yet the rebels cannot, in all probability, much longer 
avert the doom that awaits them. Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton. 

To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secretary of the Navy, Wasliington, D.C. 



United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Francisco, September 30, 1846. 

Sir : — You will, as soon as you are ready, proceed to sea under your sealed 
orders, with this modification, however : — you will, on falling in with the Cyane, 
send her immediately to San Francisco, instead of detaining her on the coast as 
heretofore directed. 

The Congress and Cyane will, by this arrangement, it is expected, be ready 
to relieve the Savannah and Portsmouth. 

If despatches from the government should arrive at Mazatlan between this 
and the first of December, yo*i will open them; and, if notice of peace, you will 
leave co})ies of the despatches at Mazatlan for me, in case I should arrive there 
after you have left, and come to San Francisco and prepare the Savannah to re- 
turn to the United States. 



APPENDIX A. i 

If Mr. Norris should arrive from the United States at Mazatkn before I 
reach there, you will bring him in the Savannah or send him in the Portsmouth 
as soon as possible to this place, without opening the despatches. The enclosed 
letter contains a despatch for the Secretary of the Navy. You will please to 
make every exertion, without regard to expense, to get it forwarded by Mr. Mott, 
or some one else. 

You will also draw for the use of this squadron any sum of money, not ex- 
ceeding one hundred thousand dollars, that you may be enabled to get at 
Mazatlan. 

Please to seal the letter to Mott, Talbot & Co. before you deliver it ; I leave 
it open in case you should find it best to deliver the despatch to other hands. 
Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stoc&ton, Commodore, &c. 

To Captain Wm. Mervine, 

United States Frigate Savannah, harbour of San Francisco. 



GENERAL ORDER. 

United States Frigate Congress, 
Off San Pedro, October 2G, 1846. 

Captain Gillespie, with fifty men, will be landed at four o'clock, a.m., to- 
morrow, to surprise the enemy. 

The oars of the boats must be muffled, and the men pull without the least 
noise, and perfect silence must be observed. 

If Captain Gillespie requires aid, he will fire a rocket, when the boats of the 
ships will be ready to go to his assistance. 

If Captain Gillespie meets no opposition in taking possession of the houses, 
he will conceal his force so as to shoot any spies that may venture inside of rifle- 
range (never shooting too quick) to oppose the landing of the troops. 

If Captain Gillespie does not require assistance, the rest of the troops will not 
land until after breakfast, which will be taken at seven o'clock, and the forces 
prepared to disembark at half-past eight o'clock, when a signal to that effect is 
made. 

Captain Gillespie will keep his position until the troops are landed, when he 
will return on board to breakfast. 

If the troops are required to land before breakfast, the force from the frigate 
Savannah will be commanded by Captain Mervine; those from the Congress by 
Lieutenant-Command.ant Livingston. 

The commander-in-chief intends to lead on the attack, if there be one, in 
person. 

By order of the commander-in-chief. 

J. Zeilin, Brevet-Captain and Adjutant. 



GENERAL ORDER. 

United States Frigate Congress, 
Bay of San Pedro, October 28, 1846. 
The commander-in-chief commends the determined courage with which the 
officers, sailors, and marines landed (in despite of the false alarm as to the 
enemy's force) and again hoisted the American standard at San Pedro. 

The important duties of the commander-in-chief, and the entire want of camp 
equipage or other necessary accommodation, require him, while the troops are 
in camp on the beach, to retain his head-quarters on board of the ship; but, 
brave comrades, be assured ihat he will superintend and direct all your opera- 



8 APPENDIX A. 

tions, and when in danger he will be, as lie was yesterday morning, in the midst 
of you. 

Every ofiBcer and man must bo ready at a moment's notice to march to the 
Pucbla to support Major Fremont's volunteers, or to go on board of ship to the 
relief of our gallant brothers in arms at .San Diego and Monterey, who are 
threatened witli an attack by overwhelming forces. 

Brave men, liowever various and different your duties may be, the commander- 
in-chief is sutislied you will give the most willing aid to all his operations in 
defence of the honour and glory of our country. 

By order of the commander-in-chief. 

J. Zeilin, Brevet- Captain and Adjutant. 



Head-Quarters, Ciudad de los Angeles, 
January 11, 1847. 

Sir: — My last letter to the department will have informed you of the defeat 
of Captain Mervine at San Pedro, and the return of Colonel Fremont, with the 
force under his command, to Monterey, since which time I have not heard from 
him; and of my being at San Diego, surrounded by the insurgents, and entirely 
destitute of all means of transportation. We succeeded at last, however, in 
getting animals two hundred and forty miles to the southward of San Diego, 
and in driving them, in despite of the insurgents, into the garrison. 

I have now tiie honour to inform you that it has pleased God to crown our poor 
efforts to put down the rebellion, and to retrieve the credit of our arms with the 
most complete success. The insurgents, again elated by the defeat of General 
Kearney at San Pasqual, and the capture of one of his guns, determined with 
his whole force to meet us on our march from San Diego to this place, and to 
decide the fate of the territory by a general battle. 

Having made the best preparation I could in the face of a boasting and 
vigilant enemy, we left San Diego on the 29th day of December (that portion of 
the insurgent army who had been watching and annoying us having left to join 
the main body) with about six hundred fighting men, composed of detachments 
from the shi])s Congress, Savannah, Portsmouth, and Cyane, aided by General 
Kearney with a detachment of sixty men on foot from the first regiment of 
United States dragoons, and with Captain Gillespie with sixty mounted rifle- 
men. 

We marched nearly one hundred and forty miles in ten days, and found the 
rebels on the Htli day of January, in a strong position, on the higii bank of the 
"Rio San Galiriel," with six hundred mounted men and four pieces of artillery, 
prepared to dispute our passage across that river. 

We waded tlirougli the water, dragging our guns after us, against the galling 
fire of the enemy, without exchanging a shot until we reached the opposite 
shore, when the tight became general, and our troops, having repelled a charge 
of the enemy, charged up the bank in a most gallant manner, and gained a 
most complete victory over the insurgent army. 

The next day, on our march across the plains of the Mesa to this place, the 
insurgents made another desperate effort to save the capital and their own necks; 
they were concealed with their artillery in a ravine until we came within gun- 
shot, when they opened a brisk fire from their field-pieces on our right flank, 
and at the same time charged both on our front and rear. We soon silenced 
their guns and repelled the cliarge, when they fled and permitted us the next 
morning to march into town without any further opposition. 

We have rescued the country from tlie hands of the insurgents, but I fear 
that the absence of Colonel Fremont's battalion of mounted riflemen will enable 
most of the Mexican officers who have broken their parole to escape to Sonora. 

I am happy to say that our loss in killed and wounded does not exceed twenty, 
while we are informed that the enemy has lost between seventy and eijjhty. 

This despatch must go immediately, and I will Avait another opportunity to 



APPENDIX A. y 

furnish you with the details of these two battles, and the gallant conduct of the 
officers and men under my command, with their names. 
Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

K. F. Stockton, Commodore, &c. 
To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secretary cj/" the Navy, Washington, D. C. 



GENERAL ORDER. 

Head-Quarters, Ciudad de los Angeles, 
January 11, 1847. 

The commander-in-chief congratulates the officers and men of the southern 
division of United States forces in California, on the brilliant victories obtained 
by them over the enemy on the 8th and 9th instants, and on once more taking 
possession of the Ciudud de los Angeles. 

He takes the earliest moment to commend their gallantry and good conduct, 
both in the battle f )ught on the 8th, on the banks of the Rio San Gabriel, 
and on the 9th instant, on the plains of the Mesa. 

The steady courage of the troops in forcing their passage across the Rio San 
Gabriel, where officers and men were alike employed in dragging the guns 
through the water, against the galling fire of the enemy, without exchanging a 
shot, and their gallant charge up the banks against the enemy's cavalry, has 
perhaps never been surpassed; and the cool determination with which, in the 
battle of the 9th, they repulsed the charge of cavalry made by the enemy at the 
same time on their front and rear, has extorted the admiration of the enemy, 
and deserves the best thanks of their countrymen. 

R. F. Stockton, 
Governor and Commander-in-chief 
of the Territo7-y of California. 



Head-Quarters, Ciudad de los Angeles, 
January 15, 1847. 

Sir: — Referring to my letter of the 11th, I have the honour to inform you of 
the arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont at this place with four hundred men; 
that some of the insurgents have made their escape to Sonora, and that the rest 
have surrendered to our arms. 

Immediately after the battles of the 8th and 9th, they began to disperse; and 
I am sorry to say that their leader, Jose M. Flores, made his escape, and that 
the others have been pardoned by a capitulation agreed upon by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fremont. 

Jose M. Flores, the commander of the insurgent forces, two or three days 
previous to the 8th sent two commissioners, with a flag of truce, to my camp to 
make "a treat]) of peace." I informed the commissioners that I could not re- 
cognise -Jose M. Flores, who had broken his parole, as an honourable man, or as 
one having any rightful authority, or worthy to be treated with; that he was a 
rebel in arms, and, if I caught him, I would have him shot. 

It seemed that, not being able to negotiate with me, and having lost the bat- 
tles of the 8tli and 9th, they met Colonel Fremont on the 12th instant on his 
way here, who, not knowing what had occurred, entered into the capitulation 
with them, which I now send to you ; and, although I refused to do it myself, 
still I have thought it best to approve it. I am glad to say that, by the capitu- 
lation, we have recovered the gun taken by the insurgents at the sad defeat of 
General Kearney at San Pasqual. 

The territory of California is again tranquil, and the civil government, formed 
by me, is again in operation in the places where it was interrupted by the in- 
surgents. 



10 ^PPENDIX A. 

Colonel Fremont has five hundred men in his battalion, -which ^vill be quite 
sufficient to preserve the peace of the territory; and I will immediately with- 
draw my saihtrs and marines, and sail as soon as possible (or the coast of 
Mexico, where I hope they will give a good account of themselves. 
Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, Commodore, &c. 
To the lion. George Bancroft, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C 



United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Diego, January 22, 1847. 
Sir: — I have the honour to inform you that the civil government of this terri- 
tory is in successful operation, that Colonel Fremont is acting as governor and 
Colonel Russell as secretary, and that I am again on board of the Congress, pre- 
paring her for the coast of Mexico. 

Lieutenant Gray, who is charged with my despatches, has been my aid-de- 
camp, and has done his duty with great good conduct and gallantry. 

He is the oflicer whom I sent to relieve General Kearney from his perilous 
condition after his defeat at San Pasqual, and deserves the consideration of the 
department. 

He will be able to give you the particulars of that unfortunate and disastrous 
affair. 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, Commodore, dfc. 
To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 



United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Diego, February 4, 1847. 

Sir: — As the guardian of the honour and services of the navy, 1 take leave to 
send to you the following narrative. This case requires no argument; nor will 
I make a single remark in relation to the extraordinary conduct of General 
Kearney or the indefensible language of his notes: "demands," ''personal col- 
lision," " civil war," and the bold assertion that the country teas not conquered un- 
til the Sth and \)th of January by the troops under his command, speak for them- 
selves. 

I only desire at this time that you will call the attention of the President to 
it, and ask that General Kearney may be recalled from the territory, to prevent 
the evil consequences that may grow out of such a temper and such a head. 

Last September I ordered an express mail to be sent in charge of Mr. Carson 
from the Ciudad de los Angeles to the city of Washington, to inform the 
President that the territory of California had been conquered and a civil govern- 
ment estaliiislied therein. Mr. Carson was met on his way, and only within 
four days' travel of Santa Fe, by General Kearney, to whom he communicated 
the above intelligence, and that Colonel Fremont was to be governor. General 
Kearney sent back to Santa Fe a large part of the force under his command, but 
came himself to the territory with a detachment of dragoons; he tpon/d not per- 
mit Mr. Carson to proceed with the express, but insisted that he shotdd return with 
him to California. On the od of December I received a letter from General 
Kearney by Mr. E. Stokes, which I now enclose, marked No. 1. I immediately 
despatched Captain Gillespie and Mr. Stokes, with about thirty-nine mounted 
riflemen, to the ''Head-quarters (fthe army of the West," with the letter marked 
No. 2. Mr. Stokes said that the General had informed him that he had about 
three hundred and fifty men with liini. 

Ou the night of the Glh Mr. Stokes returned to San Diego, and informed me 



APPENDIX A. 11 

that General Kearney had attempted to surprise the insurgents early that morn- 
ing in their camp at San Pasqual ; that a battle ensued, in which the General 
was worsted, but to what extent he could not accurately state, because he came 
oif immediately after the firing ceased, without communicating with any one on 
the field of battle ; that the General had lost many killed and wounded, and one 
of his guns had been taken; that the insurgents were commanded by Andrea 
Pico, who had with him about one hundred men. The next day, Mr. Godey 
came in express from the General's camp, and confirmed the sad intelligence of 
his defeat, bringing the enclosed letter from Captain Turner of the dragoons, 
marked No. 3. 

On Wednesday night, the 9th instant, Lieutenant Beale, of the navy, came in 
from the General's camp, and stated that the force under General Kearney's 
command had attempted to surprise the insurgents on the morning of the 6th at 
San Pasqual ; that in the fight which ensued General Kearney had been defeated, 
with the loss of eighteen or nineteen killed, and thirteen or fourteen wounded; 
that General Kearney and his whole force were besieged on a small hill of rocks, 
and so surrounded by the enemy that it was impossible for them to escape un- 
less immediate assistance was sent to them ; that all their cattle had been taken 
away from them, and that they were obliged to eat their mules ; that they were 
burning and destroying a quantity of valuable public property — tents, saddles 
and bridles, and camp equipage of every description, as well as private stores 
and clothing. Lieutenant Gray was leaving San Diego with two hundred and 
fifteen men, to go to the relief of General Kearney, at the moment of the arrival 
of Mr. Beale. lie succeeded in bringing the General and his troops safely into 
San Diego. A few days after the General's arrival at San Diego, I offered to 
him the situation of commander-in-chief of the forces then preparing for a cam- 
paign, and offered to go with him as his " aid-de-camp." He declined this pro- 
position, but said he would go as my " aid-de-camp." Soon after this he handed 
me his instructions from the War Department, which, having read, I returned 
to him with the enclosed note, marked No. 4. A short time after this, the 
General, in a conversation with me, intimated that, under his instructions from 
the War Department, he was entitled to be the governor of the territory. I re- 
plied that his instructions expressly said ^'tkat should he conqiier the country he 
might establish a civil government therein ;" that the counti'y hud been con- 
quered, and a civil yovernment established, before he left Santa Fe, of which he 
had been informed, as before stated, by Mr. Carson, when he was only four 
days' travel from Santa Fe. I also said that his instructions from the War De- 
partment, under these circumstances, should in my judgment be considered 
obsolete and nugatory; that, as the thing ordered to be done had been accom- 
plished already, there remained nothing to be done; that the civil government 
formed by me was, at the time we were talking about it, in actual operation 
throughout the territory, with the exception of the Ciudad de los Angeles 
and Santa Barbara, where it had been temporarily interrupted by the insur- 
gents; besides which, I had informed the government that I would appoint 
Colonel Fremont governor, and had pledged myself to Colonel Fremont to do so. 
That the thing was therefore bej'ore the yovernment, and their approval or disap- 
proval was probably on its way to me; and that if he had not interfered with my 
express, it probably would have returned from Washington by the middle of 
January. 1 supposed from this conversation, in connection with the offer of the 
General to accompany me as aid-de-camp, that he would not again aspire to the 
chief command of the territory until after the expected despatches had arrived 
from Washington. 

The relations between General Kearney and myself remained in this condition 
until the morning of the 29th of December, when, after the troops had been 
paraded and were ready to proceed on the march to the Ciudad de los An- 
geles, General Kearney came to me and asked who was to command the 
troops. 1 said that, as commander-in-chief, I would command in person. 
" But," said he, "I mean who is to command the troops under you?" I said 
that I had appointed Lieutenant Rowan, the first lieutenant of the Cyane, to do 
BO. The General observed that he thought he was entitled to that command. 1 



12 ^PPENDIX A. 

repliofi, that Mr. Roxran liad been appointed morely to relieve me from the de- 
tails of the march and oanip ; and that if he (the General) -vvas willing to per- 
form tliat dutj'. I did nut doubt that Lieutenant Rowan would yield to him, and 
I would give liim the apjiointnient with pleasure. 

Lieutenant Rowan yielded, and I immediately summoned the officers around 
me, who were in readiness to march, and announced to them that General 
Kearney would take Mr. Rowan's situation, but that I would remain commander- 
in-chit f. 

"NVith this arrangement we proceeded on our march, during ■which I ordered 
when the troops were to march, the road they were to march, and when they 
were to encamp, and did all other things belonging or appertaining to the duties 
as the commander of the forces and the governor of the territory, and no one 
paid more respect and deference to me as such than General Kearnej' ; and it 
never was more conspicuous than in the battles of the 8th and 9th of January, 
as Avell as during our march into the city. 

On the IGth of January I received the enclosed letter from General Kearney, 
marked No. 5, by the address of which you will perceive that I am still con- 
sidered by him acting governor of the territory, at the very moment he arro- 
gates to himself the supreme power of demanding of me to desist from the 
performance of my duties. I also send my reply, marked No. 6, and his re- 
joinder, marked No. 7, with a note subsequently received from him, marked 
No. 8. 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, Commodore, &c. 

To the Hon. George Bancroft, 

Secretary of the Navy, Wasliington, D. C. 



United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Diego, February 5, 1847. 

Sir: — I had the honour to write to you on the 11th of January, by my aid- 
de-canip. Lieutenant Gray, informing you of the victories gained on the 8th and 
9th of January over the insurgent army by the forces under my command ; that 
the insurrection had been put down, and peace and tranquillity restored through- 
out the territory ; that we had again taken possession of the Ciudad de los An- 
geles ; that our flag was once more flying in all parts of California : and that the 
civil government formed by me last September was in successful operation. 

I now proceed (as it is my duty to do) to give you a more detailed and circum- 
stantial account of the battles of the Sth and 9th, as well as of the preparations 
which preceded them. We came to San Diego with the Congress alone, her re- 
sources having been almost exhausted in a previous campaign. The town was 
besieged by the insurgents, and there were no stores or provisions of any kind in 
it, and we were reduced to one-fourth allowance of bread. We had to build a 
fort to mount our artillery, to make our saddles and bridles and harness ; we 
had, in truth, to make an army, with all its necessary appendages, out of the 
mechanics and sailors of this ship, and to take our horses and beef cattle from 
the enemy. 

The industry, perseverance, and hard work, as well as enterprise and courage 
necessary for such operations, do not need my poor commendation. 

We ccjmmenced our march on the '29th of December, with Captain Turner's 
company of 1st dragoons, dismounted, aided by Lieutenant Davidson ; six pieces 
of artillery under Lieutenant R. L. Tilghnian and Passed Midshipman William 
IL Thom))son ; Captain Gillespie's squadron of mounted riflemen, acting as the 
advance, the rear, and vanguards ; the marines of the Congress and Portsmouth, 
under Captain J. Zeilin, adjutant of the battalion ; the musketeers of the Con- 
gress, Savannah, Cyane, and Portsmouth, commanded by Lieutenant William 
B. Renshaw, Passed Midshipman John Guest, Acting Lieutenants B. F. B. Hun- 
ter and Edward lliggius, aided by Midshipmen George E. Morgan, J. Van Ness 



APPENDIX A. 13 

Philip, Theodoric Lee, Albert Allmand, B. F. Wells, Edward C. Grafton, Robert 
C. Duvall, and Philip H. Haywood, and AVilliam Simmons, commodore's clerk ; 
the carbineers of the Congress and Cyane, under the orders of Passed Midship- 
men J. M. Duncan and J. Fenwick Stenson, and Sailmaker Reed, aided by Mid- 
ehipmen Joseph Parish and Edmund Shepherd ; — in all, a strength of about six 
hundred men. Brigadier-General Kearney commanding the division, and Lieu- 
tenant S.C.Rowan, from the ship Cyane, major of brigade; Captain W. H. 
Emory, of the topographical engineers, acting adjutant-general; Lieutenant 
George Minor, of the Savannah, quarter-master, in charge of the transportation, 
aided by Mr. Daniel Fisher. Mr. Speiden, the purser of the Congress, performed 
the duties of commissary, aided by Mr. John Bidwell. Mr. Southwick, carpen- 
ter of the Congress, acted as chief engineer at the head of the sappers and 
miners. Dr. John S. Griffin, of the army, Dr. Andrew A. Henderson, of the 
Portsmouth, and Dr. Charles Eversfield, of the Congress, attended the troops. 
Lieutenant A. F. V. Gray and Captain Miguel de Pedrovena, aids-de-camp to the 
commander-in-chief. 

Our men were badly clothed, and their shoes generally made by themselves 
out of canvas. It was very cold, and the roads heavy. Our animals were all 
poor and weak, some of them giving out daily, which gave much hard work to 
the men in dragging the heavy carts, loaded with ammunition and provisions, 
through deep sands and up steep ascents, and the prospect before us was far 
from being that which we might have desired ; but nothing could break down 
the fine spirits of those under my command, or cool their readiness and ardour 
to perform their duty ; and they went through the whole march of one hundred 
and forty-five miles with alacrity and cheerfulness. 

During the day of our march to the cayotes, we learned that some of the 
enemy were in our rear following us ; and as we approached the cayotes several 
of them made their appearance in front of the house upon the hill, and waved 
their lances in angry defiance; but on the approach of the advance guard they 
rode off and left us to encamp on the hill near the house without molestation. 

Being quite satisfied that we were in the neighbourhood of the enemy, during 
the night a confidential person was sent to ascertain, if possible, their position ; 
he returned, and informed me that the enemy were in force between us and the 
Rio San Gabriel, and I was satisfied that the enemy intended at last to make a 
stand against us, and to fight us on the 8th day of January. The day suited 
me. Before moving that morning, the arms were fired and reloaded, and each 
officer and man was assigned his position for the fight, and was reminded that 
it was the 8th day of January and the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans. 

We marched at nine o'clock. Immediately on reaching the plain we formed 
a square, our baggage-packs, spare oxen, and beef cattle in the centre. The 
advance guard under Captain Hensley, company C, first dragoons, under Cap- 
tain Turner, and company D, musketeers of the Cj'^ane, under Acting Lieu- 
tenant Higgins, occupied the centre, with two pieces of artillery on each flank, 
under Lieutenant Tilghman. The right flank composed of marines, company C, 
musketeers of the Portsmouth, Acting Lieutenant Hunter ; company C, car- 
bineers. Passed Midshipman Duncan ; company A, carbineers of the Cyane, 
Acting Master Stenson ; and company A, carbineers of the Congress, Sailmaker 
Peco ; the whole under command of Captain Zeilin. The left flank composed 
of company B, musketeers of the Savannah, company A, musketeers of the Con- 
gress, under Acting Master Guest ; the whole under the command of Lieutenant 
Renshaw. The rear composed of two pieces of artillery, under Acting Master 
William H. Thompson. The guard of the day, forty-nine strong, under Midship- 
man Haywood; one company mounted riflemen, under Lieutenant Renshaw; 
and Captain Santiago E. Arguelio's company of Californians, under Lieutenant 
Luis Arguello ; the whole under the command of Captain Gillespie. When 
within about two miles of the Rio San Gabriel, the enemy appeared in sight 
upon the hills on the opposite side ; they were six hundred in number, in 
three divisions, their right about two miles down the river. As we approached, 
our column closed up and moved steadily on towards the ford, when, within a 



IJ ^APPENDIX A. 

Quarter of a mile of the river, a halt was ordered and dispositions made to meet 
the enemy. 

A detachment of marines, under- Lieutenant H. B. Watson, was sent to 
8tren;:;then the left flank of the square. A yjarty uf tiie enemy, one hundred 
and fil'ty strong, had now crossed the river and made several ineffectual attempts 
to drive a hand of wild mares upon the advance party. We now moved forward 
to the ford in hroken files ; Captain llensley's command was ordered to dis- 
mount, and, actinj^ as skirmisiiers, it dophiyed to the front and crossed the 
stream, (wiiich is about fifty yards in width,) driving before them a party of the 
enemy which had attempted to annoy us. The enemy had now taken their posi- 
tion upon the heights, distant six hundred yards from the river and about fifty 
feet above its level ; their centre or main Ijody, about two hundred strong, was 
stationed immediately in front of the ford, upon which they openetl a fire from 
two pieces of artillery, throwing round and grape shot without effect. Their 
right and left wings were separated from the main body about three hundred 
yards. Our column halted upon the edge of the stream ; at this time the guns 
were unlimbered to return the enemy's fire, but were ordered again to be lim- 
bered and not a gun to be fired until the opposite bank of the river was gained. 
The two nine-pounders, dragged by officers as well as men and mules, soon reached 
the opposite bank, when they were immediately placed in battery. The column 
now followed in order under a most galling fire from the enemy, and became 
warmly engaged on the opposite bank, their round shot and grape falling thickly 
among us as we approached the stream, without doing any injury, our men 
marching steadily forward. The dragoons and Cyane's musketeers, occupying 
the centre, soon crossed and formed upon a bank about four feet above the 
stream. The left, advancing at the same time, soon occupied its position across 
the river. 

The rear was longer in getting across the water ; the sand being deep, its 
passage was delayed by the baggage carts ; however, in a few moments the 
passage of the whole force was effected with only one man killed and one 
wounded, notwithstanding the enemy kept up an incessant fire from the 
heights. 

On taking a position upon the low bank, the right flank, under Captain Zeilin, 
was ordered to deploy to the right ; two guns from the rear were immediately 
brought to the right ; the four-pounder, under Acting Master Thompson, sup- 
ported by the riflemen under Lieutenant Renshaw. The left flank deployed 
into line in open order. During this time our artillery began to tell upon the 
en(nny, who continued their fire without interruption. The nine-pounders, 
standing in plain view upon the bank, were discharged with such precision 
that it soon became too warm for the enemy to remain upon the brow of their 
heights ; eventually a shot told upon their nine-pounder, knocked the gun from 
its trail, astounding the enemy so much that they left it for four or five minutes. 
Some twenty of them now advanced, and, hastily fastening ropes to it, dragged 
the gun to the rear. Captain llensley's skirmishers now advanced and took the 
hill upon the right, the left wing of the enemy retreating before them. The six- 
pounder from the rear had now come up ; Captain Hensley was ordered to sup- 
port it, aud returned Irom the hill. This movement being observed, the enemy's 
left made an attempt to charge the two guns ; but the right flank of the marines, 
under Captain Zeilin. })eing ((uickly thrown back, showed too steady a front for 
the courage of the Californians to engage, who wheeled to the left and diwjhed 
to the rear across the river. At this time the enemy were observed collecting 
on our loft ami making preparations to charge our left flank, (leneral Kearney 
was now ordered to form a square with the ti'oops on the right flank, upon which 
the left flank, in case of being worsted, might rally. The right wing of the 
enemy now made an unsuccessful attempt to charge our left, but, finding so 
warm a reception from the musketeers of the Savannah and Congress, under 
Lieutenant Jlenshaw and Acting Master Guest, as also the small party of ma- 
rines under Lieutenant IL B. Watson, they changed their purpose and retired, 
when a discharge of artillery told upon their ranks. The guard of the day, 



APPENDIX A. 15 

under Midshipman Haywood, protected the animals in the rear, awaiting with 
patience fur tlie enemy to give them an opportunity to open a fire. 

The dispos^itions for charging the heights were now made. The troops having 
been brought into lino, the command forward being given, on they went, (the 
artillery in battery,) charging the heights, which the enemy's centre contested 
for a few moments, then broke in retreat, their right vring charging upon the 
rear, under Captain Gillespie, encumbered with packs, baggage, horses, and 
cattle ; but, receiving a well-directed fire from the guard, which hurled some of 
them from their saddles, they fled at full speed across the river we had just left. 
The other portion of their forces retreated behind their artillery, which had taken 
position in a ravine, and again opened its fire upon our centre ; our artillery was 
immediately thrown forward, the troops being ordered to lie down to avoid the 
enemy's cannon-balls, which passed directly over their heads. 

The fire from our artillery was incessant, and so accurate that the enemy were 
from time to time driven from their guns, until they finally retreated. 

We were now in possession of the heights where, a short time before, the in- 
surgents had so vauntingly taken strong position ; and the baml, playing 
"Hail Columbia!" and "Yankee Doodle," announced another glorious victory 
on the 8th day of January. 

Our loss in this action was ascertained to be two killed and nine wounded. 
The enemy's loss we could not ascertain with any certainty, as they carried away 
both killed and wounded upon their horses. 

We moved down the heights until they brought us near the river, where we 
encamped, having our cattle, horses, and mules under the bank, safely pro- 
tected. Tattoo was beat at an early hour, and the camp retired to rest. At 
about twelve o'clock, the picquets having been fired upon, the camp was soon 
under arms in the most perfect order. Finding the enemy made no further de- 
monstration, after remaining under arms a short time, we again sought our 
blankets, and nothing disturbed our repose until the sounding of the reveille on 
the 9th told us to be stirring. 

At daylight, Captain Zeilin was despatched with a party of thirty marines to 
a rancho about three-quarters of a mile from camp, to ascertain if there were 
any persons concealed about it, or whether there was any barley or provisions 
to be found there ; finding none, he returned with his party about sunrise, with- 
out meeting any of the enemy. 

At nine o'clock our column commenced its march, taking a direct course over 
the plain of the Mesa, towards Ciudad de los Angeles. We had advanced some 
six miles when the enemy appeared in front, deployed in open order, their line 
extending nearly across our road. Approaching a ravine to the left of their line 
in front, the enemy opened a fire from their artillery, masked upon the edge of 
the bank, but with no other effect than killing an ox and mule in the centre of 
the square. Our artillery soon returned the fire while still continuing the 
march; the enemy now brought up two other pieces of artillery; our column 
halted ; our artillery on the two flanks in front was now placed in battery. The 
six-pounder under Acting IMaster Thompson, upon our right flank in rear, now 
opened its fire upon the enemy's nine-pounder, the shot telling upon it and cut- 
ting away the fixtures about the gun at every fire. The enemy in front and 
upon the right was now distant about six hundred yards ; the nine-pounders, 
one of them in charge of Mr. Southwick, soon made it so warm for their artil- 
lery in front that the enemy bore it off to their rear, 

A reinforcement now joined them, and, soon after, dovra they came upon us, 
charging upon the left flank, front and rear. A shower of lead from the mus- 
ketry under Renshaw and Guest, and Passed Midshipman Duncan's carbineers, 
(who had to-day taken post on the left flank,) being well delivered, at a distance 
of eighty yards, did so much havoc that their courage failed, and caused them 
to draw off more to the rear, which had until this moment stood firm without 
firing a shot. The four-pounder now poured forth a charge of grape upon a 
party of the enemy about thirty yards distant, hurling four from their saddles., 
and they again retired. 

The Californiaus now retreated, and we pursued our march along the Mesa 

15 



16 ^"PENDIX A. 

and crospeil the Rio Snn Fernando about three miles below the town, where we 
enoamped fur the nif;ht. 

During the day we lost but one killed and five wounded, notwithstanding; the 
shot from tlie enemy, both round and fijrape, and from the oarliinos of the horse- 
men, fell thick amonnj our men, who undauntedly pursued their march forward. 
On the 10th our tents were struck at an early hour; but, the morninj^ being cold 
and the town being distant but three miles, our march Avas delayed until about 
ten o'clock. 

We entered the City of the Anpels, our liand playinp; as ^^e marched up the 
principal street to the square, our progress being slightly molested by a few 
drunken fellows who remained about the town. The riflemen, having been 
sent to the heights commanding the town, were soon followed by Lieutenant 
Tilghman, with two pieces of artillery, supported by the marines under Cap- 
tain Zeilin, the enemy, in small force, retiring out of sight upon their approach. 

Captain Gillespie, having received the order, now hoisted the same flag upon 
the government-house of the country which he hauled down when he retreated 
from the city in September last. 

Enclosed I send the report of our killed and wounded. Our loss was three 
killed and fourteen wounded; that of the enemy between seventy and eighty, 
besides many horses. 

My narrative is done. Our friends and the territory have been rescued. I 
will only add that we had, of course, to simplify military tactics for our own 
use. We had, therefore, but five orders, — viz.: form line, form square, fire, repel 
charge, charge. The celerity and accuracy with which they could perform 
these evolutions were remarkable, and bade defiance even to the rapid move- 
ments of Californian cavalry. 

I have thus truly exhibited to you, sir, sailors, (who were principally armed 
with boarding-pikes, carbines, and pistols, having no more tlian about two hun- 
dred bayonets in the whole division,) victorious over an equal number of the 
best horsemen in the world, well mounted and well armed with carbines and 
pistols and lances. I have nothing to bestow on these gallant officers and men 
for their heroism except my poor commendation, which I most sincerely give to 
them, individually and collectively. I must, therefore, recommend them to you 
for the greatest reward a patriot may claim, — the approbation of their country. 

Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, 

To the Hon. George Bancroft, Commander-in-Chief. 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 



CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, January 11, 1847. 
Sir: — I have the honour to furnish a statement of the killed and wounded in 
the actions of the 8th and 9th instants, and also a report from the senior surgeon 
present John S. Grifl&n, viz.: — 

January 8. 

Killed — Artillery, 1 private, (U. S. seaman.) 

Wounded — Artillery, 1 private, (volunteer from the California battalion;) foot, 
7 privates, (United States seamen;) marines, 1 private. 
Total — 1 killed, 9 wounded. 

January 9. 

Wounded — 1st dragoons, 1 private; foot, 1 officer, (Lieutenant Rowan, United 
States navy,) 2 privates, (United States seamen;) California battalion, 1 officer, 
(Captain Gillespie.) 

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. H. Emory. 
Lieut. Topographical Engineers 
His Excellency R. F. Stockton, and Acting Adjutant- General. 

Governor of California, (&c. 



APPENDIX A. 17 

CiUDAD DE LOS Angeles, CALIFORNIA, January 11, 1847. 

STATEMENT. 

Killed and wounded in the action of the Sth January, 1847. 

Killed — Frederick Strauss, seaman, United States ship Portsmouth, artillery 
corps, cannon-shot in neck. 

Wounded — 1st, Jacob Halt, volunteer, artillery-driver, vround in left breast — 
died on evening of the 9th; 2d, Thomas Smith, ordinary seaman, ship Cyane, 
company D, musketeers, shot by accident through the right thigh — died on 
night of the 8th; 3d, William Cose, seaman, United States ship Savannah, com- 
pany B, musketeers, wound in right thigh and right arm, severe; 4th, George 
Bantam, ordinary seaman, United States ship Cyane, pikeman, punctured 
vround of hand, accidental — slight ; 5th, Patrick Cambell, seaman, United States 
ship Cyane, company D, musketeers, wound in thigh by spent ball — slight; 6th, 
William Scott, private, United States marine corps. United States ship Ports- 
mouth, wound in chest, spent ball — slight ; 7th, James Ilendy, United States 
ship Congress, company A, musketeers, wound over stomach, spent ball — slight; 
8th, Joseph Wilson, seaman. United States ship Congress, company A, musket- 
eers, wound in right thigh, spent ball — slight ; 9th, Ivory Coffin, seaman. United 
States ship Savannah, company B, musketeers, contusion of right knee, spent 
ball — slight. 

Wounded on the 9th. 

1st, Mark A. Child, private, company C, 1st regiment of dragoons, gunshot 
wound in right heel, penetrating upwards into the ankle-joint — severe; 2d, James 
Cambell, ordinary seaman, United States ship Congress, company D, carbineers, 
wound in right foot, second toe amputated, accidental discharge of his own car- 
bine — severe ; 3d, George Crawford, boatswain's mate, United States ship Cyane, 
company D, musketeers, wound in left thigh — severe. 

Lieutenant Rowan, United States navy, and Captain Gillespie, California 
battalion, slightly contused by spent balls. 

I am, sir, most respectfully, your obedient servant, 

John S. Griffin, 
Assistant Surgeon, United States Army. 
To Captain Wm. H. Emory, 

Assistant Adjutant- General, United States forces. 



From Executive Document No. 1, accompanying the President's mes- 
sage at the 2nd Session of the Thirtieth Congress, December, 1848. 

report of commodore STOCKTON OF HIS OPERATIONS ON THE COAST OF THE 

PACIFIC. 

Washington, D. C, February 18, 1848. 

Sir: — On my return from California in November last, the circumstances of 
the times seemed to present reasons for delaying a full report of my transactions 
and operations on the coast of the Pacific. 

The authority under which I had acted was questioned or denied; the validity 
of much that had been done was doubted, and investigations were on foot in 
which the propriety of my proceedings might be brought to the especial notice 
of the Executive. 

After a full consideration of the circumstances, to which it is unnecessary 
here further to allude, it appeared to me decorous and respectful to withhold, for 
a brief period, my own views of the questions in which I was to*some extent 
implicated, and to leave the Executive to learn the details of those transactions 
from other quarters. The period, however, has now arrived in which I feel that 



18 #PrKNDIX A. 

I can, without tlif> imputati<in of improper foolinps or motives, lay before tho 
Executive, in a tanjiiltlo and official form, a narrative of tlie occurrences which 
I directed in California; explain the circumstances which induced the course 
which I pursued, the motives by which I was guided, the objects which I de- 
signed to accomplish, and thus to put the President in possession of ample 
means to form a judgment upon my conduct. It appears now to be no longer 
questioned that I actually possessed and exercised the powers of governor of 
California and commander-in-chief of the forces of the United States in that 
quarter, and that, whether rightfully or wrongfully, I executed the duties and 
administered the functions appertaining to these higli offices, for the ailminislnv- 
tion of which I am alone responsible. The despatches which Avero from time 
to time addressed to the Department were designed to furnish tlie government 
with accurate information of wiiat transpired ; but, under the circumstances in 
which they were prc])ared, it did not enter into my purpose to give a general 
narrative of the entire operations. Opening a full view of the circumstances 
which influenced my judgment in selecting the course which was adopted, and 
the policy by which that course was determined, with your permission I Ijeg 
leave, at this time, to perform this duty; the obligations to do which, at this 
juncture, seem to mo more imperative, since it appears that in an official com- 
munication aildressed to the Dejtartment by my successor in command, I am in 
the most explicit terms censured for premature as well as injudicious action. 
With what of propriety or of professional courtes}' this condemnation has been 
passed by an officer of equal rank with myself, without any report or commu- 
nication to him of what had occurred, or the reasons by which I was governed, 
is not so apparent. Under the instructions from the Department, I arrived, in 
command of the United States frigate Congress, at the harbour of Monterey, 
about the middle of July, 1S46. The American flag was there flying. I im- 
mediately went on board the United States frigate Savannah, then lying off that 
town, and, in conformity with my orders, I reported mj-self to Commo<lore Sloat 
as formiivg part of thescjuadron then under his command. From him I learned 
that in the preceding month of June, while lying off Mazatlan, he had received 
intelligence that war had commenced between the United States and Mexico; 
that he had forthwith proceeded to Monterey, landed a force, and hoisted the 
flag of the United States without resistance. In the course of our interview, 
Commodore Sloat apprised me of his intention to return in a short time to the 
United States, whereby the command of the squadron would devolve upon me. 
In this position it became my duty to examine into the state of affairs, and, in 
view of the responsibility which was about to rest upon me, to obtain all the 
information which would enable me to exercise a proper judgment as to the 
ulterior measures to be pursued. The result of my inquiries and investigations 
showed mc that the position I was about to occupy was an impcn-tant and 
critical one. The intelligence of the commencement of hostilities Ijetween the 
two nations, although it had passed through Mexico, had reached Commodore 
Sloat in advance of the Mexican authorities. When he made his first hostile 
demonstrations, therefore, the enemy, ignorant of the existence of the war, had 
regarded his acts as an unwarrantable exercise of p'ower by the United States, 
and the most lively imlignation and bitter resentment pervaded the country. 

The public functionaries of the territory were not slow in availing themselves 
of this feeling, and endeavoured to stimulate it to the highest possible degree. 
A proclamation was put forth, denouncing in the most unmeasured terms all 
foreigners; but it was unquestionably aimed principally at the citizens of the 
United States, and such others as sympathized witli them. Two or three were, 
in fact, murdered, and all were led to apprehend extermination from the san- 
guinary feeling of resentment which was everywhere breathed. 

The local legislature was in session. Governor Pio Pico had assembled a 
force of about seven hundred or one thousand men, supplied with seven pieces 
of artillery, breathing vengeance against the perpetrators of the insult and 
injury which Ibey supposed to have been inflicted. These hostile demonstra- 
tions were daily increasing, and, by the time that the command devolved on me 
by the dejiarture of Commodore Sloat, the situation of things had assumed a 



APPENDIX A. 19 

critical and alarmino; appearance. Every citizen and friend of the United States 
thrfH!g;hout the territory was in imminent jeopardy; he could count upon no 
securitj' for either property or life. It was well known that numerous emigrants 
from the United States were on their way to Upper California. These, march- 
ing in small and detached parties, encumbered with their wives and children 
and haggage, uninformed of the war and consequently unprepared for attack, 
would have been exposed to certain destruction. 

It was also ascertained that, in the anticipation of the eventful conquest of 
the country by the United States, many of those in the actual possession of 
authority were preparing for this change by disposing of the public property, 
80 that it might be found in private hands when the Americans should acquire 
possession, believing that private rights would be protected and individual 
property secure. Negotiations were in actual progress thus to acquire three 
thousand leagues of land, and to dispose of all the most valuable portions of 
the territory appertaining to the missions at nominal prices, so that the con- 
querors should find the entire country appropriated to individuals, and in hands 
■which could effectually prevent sales to American citizens, and thus check the 
tide of emigration, while little or no benefit would result to the nation fi'om the 
acquisition of this valuable territory. 

All these considerations, together with others of inferior moment, seemed to 
make prompt and decisive action an imperative duty. To retain possession 
merely of a few seaports, while cut off from all intercourse with the interior, 
exposed to constant attack by the concentrated forces of an exasperated enemy, 
appeared wholly useless. Yet to abandon ground which we had occupied, to 
withdraw our forces from these points, to yield places where our flag had been 
floating in triumph, was an alternative not to be thought of, except as a last 
resource. Not only would all the advantages which had been obtained be thus 
abandoned, and perhaps never be regained without great expenditure of blood 
and treasure, but the pride and confidence of the enemy would be increased to 
a dangerous extent by such indications of our weakness and inability to main- 
tain what we had won. *. 

Previous to the departure of Commodore Sloat, he had, at mj'' instance, and 
upon my representations, placed at my disposal the United States sloop-of-war 
Cyane, as well as the forces on shore. I immediately apprised Captain Fremont, 
then of the topographical corps, with whom I had previous communications, of 
the position in which I was placed, and that I had determined upon my plan of 
operations. 

Captain Fremont and Lieutenant Gillespie, of the marine corps, had already 
raised a body of 160 volunteers, prepared to act according to circumstances. 
I informed those gentlemen that if they, together with the men whom they had 
raised, would volunteer to serve under my command so long as I should remain 
in California and require their services, that I would form them into a battalion, 
appointing the former major and the latter captain. These arrangements were 
all completed in the course of the 23d of July, and my letters of that date to 
Commodore Sloat, to Commander Du Pont, and Captain Fremont, on file in the 
Department, will have apprised you of my movements. 

It was thus that the battalion of California volunteers was organized, which 
subsequently, under its gallant officers, took so patriotic and efficient a part in 
the military operations in that territory. It was received into the service of the 
United States to aid the navy, as essential as well to the maintenance of the 
position we then occupied as to execute the plans which I had contemplated in 
the interior. 

A few days subsequently, Commodore Sloat sailed in the Levant, thus de- 
volving upon me the command of the entire force, both afloat and on shore. 
That force then consisted of the frigates Congress and Savannah, sloops-of-war 
Portsmouth, Cyane, and Warren, and the store-ship Erie. The Portsmouth was 
at San Francisco, the Congress and Savannah at Monterey, the Cyane had been 
sent with the California battalion to San Diego, the Warren was at Mazatlan, 
and the Erie at the Sandwich Islands. The force to be emphiyed on land con- 
sisted of 360 men, furnished from the Congress, provided with about 90 muskets 



20 ^i-PENDIX A. 

and hayonots, some small cannon procured from the merchant-vessels, and the 
battalion of volunteers, all indifferently provided with the a[)pendage8 of an 
army. 

LtMvinfi the Savannah at Monterey, for its protection, I sailed about the first 
of Au<iust, in the Congress, for San Pedro. This town is situated about 28 
miles from Ciudad de los Angeles, in the vicinity of which the enemy was 
stated to be. On the way to San Pedro, we landed at Santa Barljara, (tf which 
we took possession, and, leaving a small force for its defence, proceeded to San 
Pedro, where we arrived on the 6th of August. Here infiu-mation was received 
of the arrival of the Cyane at San Diego, of the landing of the battalion, and 
that Major Fremont had experienced great difficulty in procuring the necessary 
supply of horses. We immediatolj'^ commenced the landing of our forces from 
the frigate. On the following day two persons arrived representing themselves 
to be commissioners sent from General Castro, authorized to enter into negotia- 
tions with me, and bearing a Intter from the General, which is already in pos- 
session of the Department. IJefore, however, they would communicate the ex- 
tent of their power or the nature of their instructions, they made a preliminary 
demand that the further march of the troops must be arrested, and that I must 
not advance beyond the position which I then occupied. This proposition was 
peremptorily declined. I announced my determination to advance; and the 
commissioners returned to their camp without imparting further the objects of 
the proposed negotiations. Independently of the character of the preliminary 
conditi(ms insisted upon by these commissioners, various considerations induced 
me to be averse to any negotiations in the existing state of affairs, and to press 
forward for the purpose of dispersing the forces which had been collected to 
oppose my progress. Some of these considerations I feel it my duty to submit 
to your notice, that my objects and designs may be properly appreciated by the 
government. From the brief period which had intervened since the commence- 
ment of hostilities, it was obvious that the central government in Mexico could 
not have been apprised of the existing state of affairs; and, therefore, could 
not have communicated to this remote quarter orders and instructions accom- 
modated to these circumstances. The local functionaries, therefore, who pro- 
posed to negotiate with me, must have acted upon their own authority, and 
their proceedings with a foreign power must depend for their validity upon the 
subsequent ratification and approval by the general government. Such ratifica- 
tion, it was confidently believed, would be given or withheld, according as the 
exigencies of the times made advisable. Any arrangements, therefore, by 
which the further progress of the American arms would be stayed, would have 
left all the advantages to the one party. It was further manifest that the single 
act of entering into negotiations with this local authority would have been a 
recognition of its power to act definitively upon other subjects. If it could treat 
with us, a foreign foe, it would be impossible to deny its authority in matters 
more obviously within its sphere of action. The transfer of the public domain 
and property could scarcely have been questioned by us; and, as was well 
understood, arrangements were in progress to transfer all of it that was valuable 
to private hands, bitterly inimical to the United States and its interests. To 
prevent the accomplisliment of tliis design was one of the chief objijcts which 
had been contemplated from the organization and march of the forces under 
my command; to enter into negotiations without the entire dispersement of the 
hical government, and of the troops which it had assembled for its defence, 
woulil have been absolutely to relinquish this highly important design. In 
addition to this, preservation of Amei'ican interests, and of the lives and pro- 
perty of our citizens already in California and on their way to this territory, 
imperatively demanded that the troops which had been assembled under General 
Castro should be defeated or dispersed. The condition insisted upon as a pre- 
liminary clearly indicated that no arrangement would be acceded to which did 
not leave the ^Iexicans in the full possession of power throughout the province; 
and, if left in this possession, relieved from all aitpreliensions of molestation on 
our side, they would have been enabled to direct all their energies and force to 
the accomplishment of other objects. 



APPENDIX A. 21 

The extermination of the Americans, which had been threatened in the pro- 
clamation already referred to, was too much in accordance with the feelings 
which pervaded the country and with the policy which governed its rulers not 
to have been the immediate and certain result of any opening of negotiations be- 
gun under such inauspicious signs as were insisted upon as preliminary con- 
ditions. Every evil consequence which I had apprehended would result from 
leaving things as they were found on my arrival in California was still to be 
feared ; and even the movements which had already been made, unless pressed 
to a successful close, would have tended only to aggravate and precipitate them. 
There was, further, every reason to believe that the principal, if not the only, 
object which the Mexicans were sincerely desirous to obtain, was to gain time ; 
and this would have been accomplished with entire certainty by the mere com- 
mencement of negotiations and the arrest of our advance, without reference to 
its final termination. 

Our march would necessarily have been suspended at the outset ; the sailors 
and marines must have re-embarked ; the California battalion, so prompt and 
energetic in volunteering to aid us, must have been abandoned to its own re- 
sources, and, thus insulated and unsupported, must either have dispersed or 
fallen a sacrifice to an exasperated and powerful enemy. In the meanwhile, the 
Mexican General, relieved from all danger of disturbance from us, might, and 
certainly would, have increased his numerical force, augmented still more its 
efficiency, until he had acquired the capacity of expelling us from the places 
which had submitted to our arms. 

The foregoing were among the prominent reasons which determined me to re- 
ject the Mexican proffers of negotiation, and I trust they are such as recom- 
mend my proceedings to the favourable consideration and approval of the 
President. 

The commissioners were dismissed to their own camp, with an intimation that 
I should immediately follow them, and that the result of a battle would speedily 
determine whether General Castro and Governor Pio Pico, or myself, Avere to 
exercise authority over the inhabitants and territory of California. 

Two or three days afterwards, other persons arrived from the camp of General 
Castro, M'ith a communication from that functionary, stating his determination 
to defend the country to the last extremity, and indulging in the most extrava- 
gant language. 

Having completed all the arrangements which time and circumstances per- 
mitted, and despatched a courier to Major Fremont, apprising him of my move- 
ments, we commenced our march towards the camp of the enemy on tlie 11th of 
August. In the course of the afternoon of that day information reached us that 
the enemy's force, instead of awaiting our approach, had dispersed ; that they 
had buried their guns, and that the governor and general had retreated, as was 
supposed, towards Sonora. AVe continued our march towards Ciudad de los 
Angeles, and on the loth, having been joined by Major Fremont with about 120 
volunteers under his command, we marched into the city, which we quietly 
occupied. 

After the dispersement of the army of the enemy, the flight of the general and 
governor-in-chief out of the territory, a number of the officers of the Mexican 
army were captured and made prisoners of war. Among these were Jose Maria 
Flores, whose name will hereafter appear prominently, and Don Andres Pico, 
brother of Governor Pio Pico. These officers were released upon their parole 
of honour not to bear arms against the United States pending the war, unless 
exchanged ; with what of fidelity they performed this obligation will appear in 
the sequel. The people in general came in, tendered their submission to our 
authority, and promised allegiance to our government. Every indication of a 
hostile force had now disappeared from the country, tranquillity was restored, 
and I forthwith determined to organize a temporary civil government to conduct 
public aflairs and to administer justice as in time of peace. Various considera- 
tions prompted to this course. It appeared to me that the existence of such a 
government, under the authority of the United States, would leave no pretence 
upon which it might be urged that the conquest of the country had not been 



I'i ^^PPENDIX A. 

accomplished. While merely the military power exercised power, enforcing its 
authority by martial law and executing its functions through the instrumen- 
tality of a regular military force, nothing could be regarded as settled, 
and opposition to its power would be considered as a lawful opposition 
to a foreign enemy. When, however, the whole frame of civil adminis- 
tration should be organized, — courts and judges performing their accustomed 
functions — public taxes and imposts regularly collected and appropriated to the 
ordinary objects and purposes of government, — any opposition might be justly 
deemed a civil offence, and the appropriate punishment inflicted in the ordinary 
course of administering justice. 

Indeed, the law military appeared to me wholly inadequate to the emergency. 
It could not reach many of the objects over which a salutary control ought to be 
exercised. It could not effectively administer the property or sufficiently guard 
private rights. A civil government which should, through its various function- 
aries, pervade the entire country, exercise a superintendence over all the in- 
habitants, discover, restrain, and punish all acts of insubordination, detect and 
check all attempts at a hostile organization, recognise and sanction the pos- 
session, use, and transfer of property, inflict upon criminals the appropriate 
punishment, and remedy injuries inflicted upon individuals, seemed not only 
an important instrument in the accomplishment of the objects which I had in 
view, but essential to the attainment of the ends of the government. It appeared 
to me desirable that the actual possession and exercise of power should be trans- 
ferred, with the least possible delay, from the military to civil functionaries. 

Under our institutions the military is regarded as inferior to the civil author- 
ity, and the appropriate dutj' of the former is to act as auxiliary to the latter. 
Such being the general character of our institutions, it seemed in the first de- 
gree desirable that the inhabitants of the country should, as soon as practicable, 
become fiimiliar with them, that they might perceive and appreciate their im- 
portance and their value, their capacity to maintain right and redress wrong, 
and, ill the protection afforded to persons and property, to recognise a guarantee 
of all their individual rights. The marked contrast which would thus be afforded 
to their former institutions and rulers would reconcile the Mexican portion of 
the population to the change ; while the American inhabitants would gratefully 
witness an administration of law and justice analogous to that to which they 
had been accustomed at home. Actuated by such considerations, I gave my 
immediate attention to the establishment, upon a permanent basis, of a civil 
government throughout the country, as much in conformity with the former 
usages of the country as could be done in the absence of any written code. A 
tariff of duties was fixed, and collectors appointed. Elections were directed to 
be held for the various civil magistrates ; Major Fremont was appointed mili- 
tary commandant of the territory, and Captain Gillespie military commandant 
of the southern department. The battalion of volunteers was ordered to be 
augmented to three hundred ; and, contemplating soon to leave the territory, I 
determined on my departure to appoint Major Fremont Governor of California. 
lie was apprised of these intended arrangements, and instructed to meet me at 
San Francisco on the 25th of October, for the purpose of consummating them. 
These acts and intentions were officially communicated to the Department in my 
several despatches. 

This exposition of my operations and acts will, I trust, prove satisfactory to 
the executive, and be a sufficient reply to Commodore Shubrick's charge of pre- 
mature action. In a state of actual war against a foreign enemy, I found my- 
self at the head of a force and in command of means competent to take and hold 
possession of an important part of the hostile territory. 1 found that before the 
command had devolved upon me the flag of my country had been raised in 
some parts of California. Important interests were involved ; to stop short 
would have led to their absolute sacrifice, accompanied by great individual loss 
and suffering. No middle course was open to my choice. The alternative was 
the subjection of the entire province to our authority, or its total abandonment. 
In such a position I could not hesitate as to the line of duty. Empowered to 
Conduct the war against Mexico according to the exigency of circumstances and 



APPENDIX A. 23 

my own judgment, I determined to support the honour of my flag and to pro- 
mote what I regarded as the best interest of the nation. Having achieved the 
conquest of the country, and finding my military strength ample to retain it, 
the establishment of a civil government naturally and necessarily resulted. The 
omission to do this would have marred the entire plan and stamped a character 
of imbecility and instability upon the whole operation. My views of the in- 
terests of my country were decisive ; as to the expediency of my measures, the 
estimate I entertained of my authority impressed upon them the sanction of 
duty. The arrangements having been thus completed, I determined to leave 
California under the administration of the civil autliority, and with the squadron 
under my conmiand, aided by a volunteer corps raised for the purpose, to sail 
for the southern part of Mexico, capture Acapulco, and, having secured proper 
positions on the coast, to march into the interior, advance towards the city of 
Mexico, and thus to co-operate with the anticipated movements of General Taylor, 
or produce a powerful diversion which would materially aid him in his opera- 
tions. My despatches have already put the department in possession of these 
plans. 

About the 2d of September I left Ciudad de los Angeles, embarked on board 
the Congress on the 3d, and on the 5th sailed for Santa Barbara. Having 
taken on board the small detachment which had been landed at this place, we 
proceeded to Monterey, where every thing was found tranquil. The people ap- 
peared to be quite satisfied with the state of afi"airs. Information was here re- 
ceived leading to the apprehension that Suter's settlement on the Sacramento 
was threatened with an attack by a body of one thousand AY alia- Walla Indians. 
The Savannah was immediately ordered to San Francisco; Lieutenant Maddox, 
of the marine corps, appointed military commandant of the middle department, 
and, other necessary arrangements having been made, I proceeded in the Con- 
gress to San Francisco, which place 1 reached in a few days. It soon appeared 
that the reports in regard to the Walla-Walla Indians had been greatly exagge- 
rated. They were not so numerous as had been represented, nor had they any 
hostile intentions. The inhabitants of San Francisco, on my arrival, received 
me en masse, with every demonstration of joy on the conquest of the country, 
and with every manifestation of personal respect as the governor of the territory 
and commander-in-chief of the United States forces. 

About the 30th of September, a courier arrived from Captain Gillespie, de- 
spatched by that officer to convey to me the information that an insurrection 
had broken out at Ciudad de los Angeles, and that he was besieged in the 
government-house at that place by a large force. I immediately ordered Cap- 
tain Mervine to proceed in the Savannah to San Pedro, for the purpose of afford- 
ing aid to Captain Gillespie. Major Fremont was at Sacramento when the 
news of the insurrection reached him, and, having formed the determination to 
march against the insurgents with the force he could muster, amounting to 
about one hundred and twenty men, was preparing to move. I sent a request 
to him forthwith to join me at San Francisco with his command, and to bring 
with him as many saddles as he could procure. While awaiting the arrival of 
Major Fremont 1 detached officers in various directions for the purpose of pro 
curing volunteers to join the battalion, and engaged the merchant-ship Ster- 
ling to take them down to Santa Barbara. 

About the 12th of October, Major Fremont arrived at San Francisco, and im- 
mediately embarked on board the Sterling, with about one hundred and sixty 
volunteers. He was directed to proceed to Santa Barbara, there to jjrocure 
horses to march to Ciudad de los Angeles, while I, with the Congress, was to 
sail to San Pedro, and by that route advance towards the same pomt. The in- 
surgents were represented to be encamped in the neighbourhood of that city. 
The Congress and Sterling sailed in company from San Francisco, but sepa- 
rated the same evening in a fog. Between San Francisco and Monterey we 
spoke a merchant-vessel from the latter port, with despatches from Lieutenant 
Maddox, apprising me that Monterey was threatened with an attack, and that 
he was in want of immediate assistance. We ran into the Bay of Monterey, 
lauded two officers with fifty men and some ordnance. Having thus strength- 



24 APPENDIX A. 

ened that post, I proceeded to San Pedro. On my arrival at that phice, about 
the 'I'.jtl of Octoljer, I found the Savannah frigate. Captain Mervino informed 
me tliat Captain Gillespie, with the volunteers under his command, was on 
board his \essol, having left Ciudad de los Angeles under a capitulation entered 
into with General Flores, the leader of the insurrection, — one of the Mexican 
officers who, having been made prisoner of war, had been released on his 
parole. 

Captain Mervine further informed me that, about two weeks before, he had 
lan<U'(l with liis sailors and marines for the purpose of marching in conjunction 
with Ca|itain Gillespie and his detacliment of volunteers to Ciudad de los An- 
geles, lie had not carried any artillery witli him; that about twelve miles 
from San Pedro he encountered a party of the insui gents witli one piece of 
artillery ; a battle ensued ; that several charges had been made upon the insur- 
gents' gun, but it was impossible to capture it, as, whenever he approached, 
they hitched their horses to it and retreated. Having sustained a loss of several 
men killed and wounded, he retired with his force and re-embarked. 

Proper arrangements having been made during the night, in the morning we 
landed a strong force with several pieces of artillery, once more hoisted the flag 
of the United States at San Pedro, and formed our camp there. The insurgent 
force in tlie vicinity was supposed to number about eight hundred men. Our 
authority was necessarily limited to the portion of territory in our actual pos- 
session or within the range of our guns. The insurgents, in the undisturbed 
occupancy of the interior, and watchful of our every movement, could, at their 
pleasure, threaten us with an attJ^ck by night or day, and had tlie precaution to 
remove beyond our reach every horse and all the cattle which might have been 
available cither for food or transportation. 

The roadstead at San Pedro was also a dangerous position for men-of-war, 
being exposed to the storms which at that season of the year rage with great 
violence upon the coast. 

This consideration decided me to proceed to San Diego, which, although the 
entrance was obstructed by a bar w4iich had never been passed by a vessel of 
equal draught of water with the Congress, might, I hoped, be crossed ; and, if 
the passage should prove practicable, would be found a convenient and safe 
liarbuur. We did not, however, leave San Pedro until 1 had been compelled to 
relinquish all expectation of the co-operation of Major Fremont, from whom I 
had not heard a word since we parted off San Francisco, nor until the officers 
and men had become completely exhausted \>j their incessant duties on shore, 
in guarding the camp from attack and pursuing small parties of the insurgents 
who approached us. Having embarked the men belonging to the squadron, 
and volunteers under Captain Gillespie, I sailed for San Diego ia the Congress. 

On my arrival off the harbour of San Diego, I received information from Lieu- 
tenant Minor that the town was besieged by the insurgents, that his stock of 
provisions was small, and that he was in want of an additional force, lie gave 
it as his opinion that the Congress might be got over the bar. In attempting 
this, however, the ship struck, and her position was so dangerous that we were 
conipeiicd to return to the ancliorage outside. 

On the following day the Malek Adhel, a prize to the United States ship 
Warren, arrived from Monterey with despatches from Lieuteiuint-Coionel Fre- 
mont. I thus received information from that officer that on his way to Santa 
Barbara he met the merchant-ship Vandalia, from San Pedro, by wliom lie was 
informed of the state of affairs at the South; tliat it would be impossible for him 
to procure horses at Santa Barbara, in consequence of which he had proceeded 
to Monterey, and would employ all diligence in preparing his force to march 
for Ciudad de los Angeles. 

Lieutenant Minor was directed to send the ship Stonington, then lying in the 
harbour of San Diego, with as many volunteers as could be spared, to Ensanada, 
about ninety miles below San Diego, for the pui-pose of jirocuriiig animals, 
which he was instructed to have driven into San Diego. Without a supply of 
horses and beeves, it was not prudent to commence our march. Captain Mer- 
vine was despatched in the Savannah to Monterey, to aid Lieutenant-Colonel 



APPENDIX A. 25 

Fremont in his preparations to march, and, having myself gone to San Pedro, 
returned with all convenient speed to San Diego. 

About thirty or forty miles from that place our progress was arrested by a 
calm. My anxiety on account of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, and my desire 
to go to his assistance was so great, that a boat was immediately despatched 
with Lieutenant Tilghman, the bearer of a communication addressed to Lieu- 
tenant George Minor, in command at San Diego, apprising that oflScer that on 
my arrival 1 would be ready to take the field in person, and, with an additional 
force of two hundred and fifty men from the ship, to take up the line of march 
for Ciudad de los Angeles. Lieutenant Minor was directed to arrange with 
Lieutenant Tilghman, the commanding ofiBcer of the artillery, and Mr. South- 
wick, commanding officer of the engineers, to have the horses necessary for the 
transportation of the guns and ammunition. 

Notwithstanding my first unsuccessful attempt to get into the harbour of San 
Diego, it was an object of too great importance to be abandoned, unless from 
the absolute impossibility of efl'ecting it. The bar and channel were again, on 
my return, examined and buoyed, and a second attempt made. After crossing 
the bar, the ship grounded, and in such a situation that it became expedient to 
prepare her spars to shore her up, to prevent her from tumbling over. While 
thus occupied, the insurgents commenced an attack upon the town, and, not- 
withstanding the perilous condition of the frigate and the necessity of employ- 
ing the crew in extricating her from her position, a portion of them was simul- 
taneously engaged in landing from the ship, in boats, to take part in the fight. 
In executing my orders in reference to those two distinct objects at the same 
time, the conduct of the officers and men under my command was such as to 
command my warmest commendation. Every thing was performed with the 
regularity and order of the ordinary duties of the vessel. Having accomplished 
a landing of the men from the ship, the attack of the insurgents was success- 
fully repelled by the combined force under the commanii of Lieutenant Minor 
and Captain Gillespie. 

The situation of the place was found to be most miserable and deplorable. 
The male inliabitants had abandoned the town, leaving their women and chil- 
dren dependent upon us for protection and food. No horses could be obtained 
to assist in the transportation of the guns and ammunition, and not a beeve 
could be had to supply the necessarj- food ; some supplies of provisions were 
furnished from the ship. The expedition to the southward for animals, under 
the command of Captain Gibson, of the battalion, had succeeded in driving 
about ninety horses and two hundred head of beef-cattle into the garrison. 

The horses were, however, much worn down, and it was supposed a fort- 
night's rest would be required before they would be fit for service. During the 
time required for resting the horses, we were actively employed in the construc- 
tion of a fort, for the more complete protection of the town, mounting guns, and 
in making the necessary hai-ness, saddles, and bridles. While the work of pre- 
paration necessary for our march to meet Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont at Ciudad 
de los Angeles was thus going on, we sent an Indian to ascertain where the 
principal force of the insui-gents was encamped. He returned with inforniation 
that a body of them, about fifty strong, was encamped at San Bernardo, about 
thirty miles from San Diego. Captain Gillespie was immediately ordered to 
have as many men as he could mount, with a piece of artillery, ready to march 
for the purpose of surprising the insurgents in their camp. Another expe- 
dition, under command of Captain Hensley, of the battalion, was sent to the 
southward for animals, who, after performing the most arduous service, re- 
turned with five hundred head of cattle and one hundred and forty horses and 
mules. About the ud of December, two deserters from the insurgents, whose 
families lived in San Diego, came into the place and reported themselves to 
Lieutenant Minor, the commander of the troops. On receiving information of 
the fact, I repaired to Lieutenant Minor's quarters, with my aid-de-camp, Lieu- 
tenant Gray, for the purpose of examining one of these men. While engaged 
in this examination, a messenger arrived with a letter from General Kearney, 
of the United States army, apprising me of his approach, and expressing a wish 



26 ^APPENDIX A. 

that T Avonld op?n a communication with him and inform him of the state of 
afi'iiirs in California. 

Captain Gillespie was immediately ordered to proceed to General Kearney's 
camp with the force which he had been directed to have in readiness, carrying 
a letter which I wrote to General Kearney. Captain Gillespie left San Diej^o at 
about half-past seven o'clock the same eveninjf, takinj:; with him one of the de- 
Hcrters to act as a guide in conducting General Kearney to the camp of the in- 
surgents. The force which accompanied Captain Gillespie consisted of a com- 
pany of volunteers, composed of Acting Lieutenant Boale, Passed Midshipman 
Duncan, ten carbineers from the Congress, Captain Gibson, and twenty-five of 
the California battalion. Mr. Stokes, wlio was the bearer of the letter from 
General Kearney, was also of the company. In the evening of December fi, Mr. 
Stokes returned to San Diego, to inform me that General Kearney, on the 
morning of that day, had attempted to surprise the insurgents, under the com- 
mand of Captain Andres Pico, in their camp at San Pasqual ; that he had been 
worsted in the action which ensued, but to what extent he was unable to say, 
as he had left the field before the battle was concluded. He, however, was 
under the impression that General Kearney had lost a number of men killed 
and wounded. 

The following morning. Lieutenant Godey, of the California battalion, with 
two men, came into San Diego with a letter from Captain Turner, of the dra- 
goons, informing me that General Kearney had had a fight with a considerable 
body of the Mexicans ; that he had about eighteen killed and fourteen or fifteen 
wounded, and suggesting the propriety of despatching, without delay, a con- 
siderable force to his assistance. Preparations were immediately made to de- 
spatch a detachment for this purpose. Captain Turner had not mentioned the 
strength on either side, and Lieutenant Godey was not able to inform me. From 
the information, however, I deemed it advisalde to proceed in person, with all 
the force that could be spared from the garrison, to form a junction with him. 
Two days' provisions were ordered to be prepared, and the advance, with two 
field-pieces, under Acting Lieutenant Guest, was directed to march forthwith 
to the mission of San Diego, where it was my intention to join it with the rest 
of the force the next morning. Before, however, the advance had moved, an 
Indian came in from General Kearney. From the information he gave, I judged 
that the necessity for immediate assistance was much more urgent than had 
been previously supposed. Anticipating great diflJiculty and delay from the 
want of animals to drag the artillery, should I march with my entire force, and 
believing, from the representations now made, that the force of the Californians 
was less than had been supposed, and consequently that a portion of my com- 
mand would be sufiicient for the purpose, I determined not to move in person, 
but to send on as rapidly as possible an effective body of men. About ten 
o'clock at night, Acting Lieutenant Beale, of the Congress, arrived from General 
Kearney's camp, and confirmed the worst accounts we had received and the im- 
portance of prompt assistance. The advanced body, increased to the number 
of 215 men, was placed under the command of Lieutenant Gray, my aid-de- 
camp, with orders to proceed directly to the camp of General Kearney. The 
order was successfully performed, and Lieutenant Gray, having accomplished it, 
returned to San Diego accompanied by the General. On their arrival. General 
Kearney, his officers and men, were received by all the garrison in the kindest 
and most respectful manner. So far as my observation extended, no civility or 
attention was omitted. Having sent with Captain Gillespie every horse that 
was fit for use to General Kearney, I was without one for my own accommoda- 
tion. I Avas therefore compelled, on foot, to advance and receive the General, 
whom I conducted to my own quarters, until others more agreeable to him could 
be prepared. The arrival of General Kearney was to me a source of gratifica- 
tion, altiiongh it was my decided opinion — which as yet I have seen no reason 
to change — that, under the circumstances that existed, I was entitled to retain 
the position in which I was placed of commander-in-chief; yet, in consideration 
of his high standing in the army, his long experience as a soldier, the import- 
ance of military science and skill in the movements that were to bo made in the 



APPENDIX A. 27 

interior of the country, I immediately determined to yield all personal feelings 
of ambition and to place in his hands the supreme authority. In accordance 
•with this determination I tendered to General Kearney the position of com- 
mander-in-chief and offered to accompany him as his aid. 

This proposition was on more than one occasion renewed, and with all sin- 
cerity and singleness of purpose. The responsibility of moving from San Diego, 
and leaving the safety of the ships, deprived of so large and efficient a portion 
of their crews, was of itself a momentous one. This, however, in the discharge 
of duty, I felt no inclination to shrink from. But the fate of the territory itself 
might depend upon the issue of a battle to be fought on shore against an army 
organized to encounter us. The nature of the service and the importance of the 
stake, it seemed to me, appertained rather to a general in the army than a cap- 
tain in the navy. Whatever ambition I might feel for distinction, either on my 
account or on that of the gallant officers and men under my command, was 
voluntarily and deliberately offered as a sacrifice to a paramount sense of 
duty. The offers thus made were, however, on every occasion distinctly and 
positively declined by General Kearney, who, on his side, offered to accompany 
me in the capacity of my aid, and tendered to afford me the aid of his head and 
hand. 

A day or two after his arrival at San Diego, General Kearney removed from 
my quarters to others which at his instance had been provided for his accommo- 
dation. Before leaving, however, he handed me his instructions from the War 
Department. On reading them, I came to the conclusion that he had submitted 
them to my perusal to affurd me the gratification of perceiving how entirely I 
had anticipated the views of the government in the measures which I had 
adopted. In return, I exhibited some of my own despatches to the Department. 
Subsequently, and befure leaving San Diego, General Kearney mentioned the 
subject of his instructions from the War Department, and seemed to intimate 
that he ought of right to be the governor of the territory. Ilis language, how- 
ever, though perhaps sufficiently explicit, was not very intelligible to lue, as I 
•was at a loss to reconcile the assertion of such a claim of right with his repeated 
refusal to accept the offer, which I had more than once made to him, to devolve 
upon him the supreme command in the territory. The subject, however, was 
discussed between us without any interruption of that harmony which had com- 
menced on our first interview. 

A few days before I expected to take up the line of march, I addressed a note 
to the General, expressing a wish that he would accompany me. In his reply 
he repeated the language which he had before employed : — that he would so ac- 
company me, and afford me the aid of his head and hand. Accordingly, on the 
morning of our departure he appeared upon the ground. After the truops had 
been paraded, and were nearly ready to commence the march, as I was about 
to mount my horse, General Kearney approached me and inquired who was to 
command the troops. I replied, Lieutenant Kowan was to have the command. 
On his expressing a wish that he should himself command them, I replied, that 
he should have the command. The different officers were at once convened, 
and informed that General Kearney had volunteered to command the troops, 
and that I had given him the appointment, reserving my own position as com- 
mander-in-chief. This arrangement having been made, we proceeded on the 
march. 

During our march I was informed by Captain Gillespie, who was sent by Gene- 
ral Kearney, who was in the advance, that two commissioners had arrived with 
a flag and a communication addressed to me. Piepairing to the front, I received 
the commissioners, Avho bore a letter, signed by General Flores as governor and 
commander-in-chief, addressed to the commanler-iu-chief of the American 
forces. Upon reading it, and ascertaining from whom it emanated, I replied to 
the commissioners, substantially, that I perceived the letter was written by 
General Flores, whom I had captured and held as a prisoner, but whom I had 
* released on his parole of honour ; that in appearing now in hostile array he had 
violated his parole, and could not be treated as an honourable man ; that I had 
no answer to return to his communication but this: — that if I caught him I 



28 ^MTENDIX A. 

RhonM shoot him. With this reply the commissioners departed, and -we pro- 
ceeded on our march to meet the enemy. 

The battles on the Rio San Gabriel and on the plains of the Mesa took place 
on the Stii and *Jth of January, IXAl. On the morning of the 8th, we crossed 
the river under a galling fire from the enemy, who were posted, with their artil- 
lery, on the opposite bank, abnut fifty feet above the level of the river. Havinj» 
crossed the guns, we placed the two nine-pounders in battery, and commenced 
the fire. As soon as the troops had passeil the; river, they commenced forming 
the squares. At this time 1 perceived the insurgents were about to make a 
charge upon our left flank, and I ordered the men of that flank to be kept in 
line, that wo might have a more extended line of fire. At this time, observing 
that the insurgents had withdrawn their artillery from the hill, I sent Lieutenant 
Gray, my aid-de-camp, to General Kearney, to move the square, with one field- 
piece, up the hill. At this moment the insurgents charged the left flank, but 
were received with such a shower of lead that they were soon repulsed. We 
immediately moved the line up the hill with the two nine-pounders, which I 
placed in battery in advance of the troops. I ordered the troops to lie down to 
avoid the insurgents' cannon-balls, as the fight was kept up by the artillery 
alone. 

On the morning of the day we marched into Ciudad de los Angeles, General 
Kearney came to me with Air. Soutliwick, who was acting as engineer, to ascer- 
tain from me by what road I intended to enter the city. He requested Mr. 
Southwick to mark on the sand the position of the city, and the different roada 
leading into it. I selected the plainest and broadest road, leading into the 
nuiin street of the city ; and when we marched into the city I led the way with 
the advance-guard. My position as commander-in-chief was again distinctly 
recognised in a letter of January lo, addressed tcf me by General Kearney, as 
Governor of California, commanding United Slates forces. 

A few days after we had taken Ciudad de los Angeles, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Fremont arrived with his part of the battalion. 

With the firm convictions which existed upon my mind as to my rights and 
authority as commander-in-chief, and the obligations which all officers and men 
under my command were under to obey implicitly all my orders, I should not 
onl}- have felt it to be my right, but <a matter of imperative duty, to assert and 
maintain ni}' authority, if necessary, by a resort to force. I continued this exer- 
cise of the power of commander-in-chief without its having been denied or ques- 
tioned by any person, as far as I was informed, up to the IGth of January, when 
I received a letter of that date from General Kearney, which is now on file in 
the Department, in which he demands that I will cease all further proceedingg 
relating to the formation of a civil government for the territory. In my reply of 
the same date to that letter, (which, I think, is also on tile in the Department,) 
I suspended General Kearney from his volunteer command under me, when he 
again l^ecaine Brigadier-General Kearney, over whom I never attempted or de- 
sired to have any command or control. 

I exercised no authority in the territory after I left San Diego, except that 
■which was induced by the receipt of a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Cook, in- 
forming me that he had received information that a French scliooner had been 
landing some guns on the Southern coast, and that General Bustamcnte, with 
1500 Mexicans, was approaching the territory. I wrote to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Cook that I would go in search of them as soon as possible. I went down the 
coast 120 miles, landed and mounted s^me of my men, and went in pursuit. It 
turned out to be a false alarm. After performing this last service in California, 
I returned, via San Diego and Monterey, to San Francisco, where I gave up the 
command of the frigate Congress, and returned to the United States by way of 
the Rocky Mountains. 

The California battalion was organized under my own personal direction and 
authority, under a special condition that it should act under my orders as long 
as I might remain in California and require its services. It was paid by my 
orders, as long as I had any thing to pay with. The officers derived their ap- 
pointments exclusively from me. It was never, in any form or manner, mua- 



APPENDIX A. 29 

tered into the service of the United States as a part of the army or connected 
with it. It was exclusively and essentially a navy organization. The battalion 
was entirely composed of volunteers, organized under my authority, but with 
their own free consent, according to the terms of a distinct and specific agree- 
ment to obey my orders and to serve while I should require their services. 
These men were not of that kind oi personnel which sometimes compose regular 
armies : they were principally free American citizens who had settled in Cali- 
. fornia ; they were men of respectability, of influence, and of property ; they 
were no ordinary men, because, when told that I had offered them as pay ten 
dollars a month, they said that they would not accept that pay, — that it would 
not pay their expenses, — but that they would volunteer to serve under my com- 
mand without compensation. 

This was the origin, character, and position of the battalion when engaged, in 
co-operation Avith the squadron under my command, in accomplishing the ob- 
jects which I had in view. 

Such was the posture of things when General Kearney arrived in California, 
and when he joined me in San Diego. He brought with him a very inconsider- 
able force, — wholly insufficient of itself to accomplish the important objects of 
tranquillizing the province and subjecting it to the authority of the Union, by 
the suppression of the insurrection which had been organized for the purpose 
of recovering the positions we occupied, overthrowing the government we had 
organized, and expelling us from the country, if, indeed, it had proved itself 
able to defend itself without our aid. AVhen General Kearney declined the prof- 
fers I made to him of devolving upon him the high and responsible position of 
commander-in-chief; when he volunteered to act as my aid in the march against 
the enemy; when, at his own request, I assigned to him the position of com- 
mander of the troops ; when the battles wei'e fought which broke and dispersed 
the army of the insurgents ; when, finally, we entered in triumph Ciudad de loa 
Angeles, during this entire period I had not received any intelligence of the 
movements of Major Fremont. 

The battalion was never placed under the command of General Kearney by 
me, and was not subjected to his orders. It still remained in immediate subor- 
dination to me and to my authority. Up to the period last mentioned, — viz.: the 
date of our occupation of Ciudad de los Angeles, the only authority which Gene- 
ral Kearney had exercised, while he accompanied me, was simply that authority 
which he had asked me to give him, and which he had voluntarily accepted at 
my hands. 

No one has ever pretended — I certainly never claimed — that I possessed any 
right or authority to command General Kearney as such. All the power which 
I ever claimed or exercised over him was derived from his volunteering to aid 
me and to act under my orders. This connection, being purely one created by 
mutual consent, was, at any time, dissoluble at the will of either of the parties. 
As I could not originally have compelled General Kearney to assume the posi- 
tion he held, neither had I any authority to detain him in it one moment against 
his inclination. lie might, at any time, have laid down his character as a volun- 
teer under me, and resumed his official rank and rights as brigadier-general in 
the army of the United States. 

In his capacity of brigadier-general, however, he had no authority to com- 
mand me or any portion of my force. I was as independent of him as he con- 
fessedly was ot me. If the force which I had brought ashore from the squadron 
constituted a portion of the navy, — if the California battalion, which I had raised 
and organized, was ever rightfully subject to my orders, — both were as independ- 
ent of General Kearney, or any other officer of the army, as I myself was. 

Nor have I ever questioned, much less denied, the authority of General 
Kearney to assume command over and give his orders to Lieutenant-Colonel 
Fremont. lie might, at any time, without my controverting his power, have 
directed Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont to leave my command, to terminate his 
connection with me as a volunteer under my command, and to report to him for 
orders. AV^ith any such exercise of authority I should never have interfered ; 
whether rightfully or wrongfully exercised was not for me to judge. That was 



30 ^^rPENDIX B. 

a matter dcpendont upon the relative riglits and duties of the parties themselves, 
as fixed l)v the military law, and to he decided hy military authority. 

I did, however, and do still, deny that General Kearney, while occupying the 
position of volunteer under my command, had any authority whatever, as 
brigadier-general, over any portion of the forces serving under me. I deny that 
after tlie cliaracter of volunteer was laid down, and that of brigadier-general re- 
Bumed, he had, as such, an^' authority, nor could the Secretary of War give him 
any such authority over an}- portion of the force which I had organized. What- 
ever authority he might lawfully exercise over Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont per- 
sonally, I deny that it reached to the battalion organized under me and by me 
K'aced under the command of that oiBcer. And, finally, I deny that General 
earney could rightfully control me in my conduct as governor of California, 
more especially after having explicitly refused to accept the supreme authority 
when voluntarily tendered to him. 

I have the honour to be, faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton. 
To the lion. John Y. Maso.v, 

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 



APPENDIX B. 



Instructions of the Secretary of War hy virtue of which (xeneral 
Kearney proceeded to California^ dated June 3, 1846. 

War Department, Washington, June 3, 1846. 

Sir: — I herewith send you a copy of a letter to the Governor of Missouri for 
an additional force of one thousand mounted men. 

The object of thus adding to the force under your command is not, as you will 
perceive, fully set forth in that letter, for the reason that it is deemed prudent 
that it should not at this time become a matter of public notoriety; but to you 
it is proper and necessary that it should be stated. 

It has been decided by the President to be of the greatest importance, in the 
pending war with Mexico, to take the earliest possession of Upper California. 

An expedition with that view is hereby ordered, and you are designated to 
command it. 

To enable you to be in sufficient force to conduct it successfully, this addi- 
tional force of a thousand mounted men has been provided. 

Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and California, 
or considerable places in either, you will establish temporary civil governments 
therein. 



Instructions sent to Commodore Sloat, and received hy Commodore 
Shvhrick in February, 1847, aiid not covmumicafed to Commodore 
Stockton. {See Proceedings of Court-martial, p. 59.) 

United States Natt Department, 
Washington, July 12, 1846. 
Commodore: — Previous instructions have informed you of the intention of this 
government, pending the war with Mexico, to take and hold possession of Cali- 



APPENDIX B. 31 

fornia; for this end, a company of artillery, with cannon, mortars, and munitions 
of war, is sent to you in the Lexington, for the purpose of co-operating with you 
according to the best of your judgment, and of occupying, under your directions, 
Buch post or posts as you may deem expedient in the Bay of Monterey, or in 
the Bay of San Francisco, or in both. In the absence of a military officer higher 
than captain, the selection of the first American post or posts on the waters of 
the Pacific, in Califnrnia. is left to your discretion. 

The object of the United States is, under its rights as a belligerent nation, to 
possess itself entirely of Upper California. 

When San Francisco and Monterey are secured, you will, if possible, send a 
small vessel of war to take and hold possession of the port of San Diego; and it 
would be well to ascertain the views of the inhabitants of the Puebla de loa 
Angeles, who, according to information received here, may be counted upon as 
desirous of coming under the jurisdiction of the United States. 

If you can take possession of it, you should do so. The object of the United 
States has reference to ultimate peace with Mexico; and if, at that peace, the 
basis of the uti possedeiis shall be established, the government expects, through 
your forces, to be found in actual possession of Upper California. 

This will bring with it the necessity of a civil administration. Such a govern- 
ment should be established, under your protection; and, in selecting persons to 
hold office, due respect should be had to the wishes of the people of California, 
as well as to the actual possessors of authority in that province. 

It may be proper to require an oath of allegiance to the United States from 
those who are intrusted with authority. 

You will also assure the people of California of the protection of the United 
States. 

In reference to commercial regulations in the ports of which you are in actual 
possession, ships and produce of the United States should come and go free of 
duty. 

For your further instruction, I enclose to you a copy of confidential instruc- 
tions from the War Department to Brigadier-General S. W. Kearnej-, who is 
ordered, overland, to California. You will also communicate your instructions 
to him, and inform him that they have the sanction of the President. 

The government relies on the land and naval forces to co-operate with each 
other in the most friendly and efi'ective manner. 

After you shall have secured Upper California, if your force is sufficient, you 
will take possession and keep the harbours on the Gulf of California, as far down, 
at least, as Guaymas; but this is not to interfere with the permanent occupation 
of California. 

A regiment of volunteers, from the State of New York,, to serve during the 
war, have been called for by the government, and are expected to sail from the 
first to the tenth of August. This regiment will, in the first instance, report to 
the naval commander on your station, but will ultimately be under the com- 
mand of General Kearney, who Is appointed to conduct the expedition by land. 

The term of three years having nearly expired since you have been In com- 
mand of the Pacific squadron, Commodore Shubrick will soon be sent out in the 
Independence to relieve you. 

The department confidently hopes that all Upper California will be in our 
hands before the relief shall arrive. Very respectfully, 

George Bancroft. 

Commodore John D. Sloat, 

Commanding United States naval forces in the Pacific Ocean. 



Extract from Defence of Colonel Fremont, as published in Proceed- 
ings of the Court-martial of November, 1847. 

I will first call attention, under this head, to what relates to the expedition of 
December and January, 1846 and 1847, from San Diego to Los Angeles, and 

16 



32 Wppendix b. 

especially with reference to the testimony concerning the command of the trocypa 
in that expedition. This is a matter on which (leneral Kearney lays preat 
stress tlin)ii<:;liout, bottominjij, at one time, his claim to chief authority in the 
province mainly on the results of that expedition and his alleged command of 
it. I siiall, consequently, examine and test what he says in relation to it, with 
some minuteness. 

1. And first, as to the point, at whose instance was the expedition raised and 
marched? There is preat discrepancy here. In General Kearney's letter of 
17th January to the Department, he says: — 

" I have to state that the march of the troops from San Diego to this place was 
reluctaiithj consented to hi/ Commodore Stockton, on my vrffput advice that he 
should not leave Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont unsupported to fight a battle on 
which the fate of California might, for a long time, depend; the correspondence to 
prove ivhich is noiv with 7vi/ pcijiers at San Diego, &c. &c. 

In his cross-examination on the fourth day of the trial, he says: 

"In the latter end of Deccml)er, an expediticm was organized at San Diego to 
march to Los Angeles, to assist Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont ; and it icas organ- 
ized in consequence, as I believe, of this paper, which is a cnpy of a letter from me 
to Commodore Stockton," (referring to his letter of December 22, hereafter 
quoted.) 

Let us contrast this first positive assertion, and second more reserved decla- 
ration of belief, with facts, with other testimony, and finally with the " proof 
which General Kearney tenders. 

Commodore Stockton testifies: — 

" After General Kearney arrived, (on the 12th December,) and in my quarters, 
and in presence of two of my military family, I offered to make him commander- 
in-chief over all of us, and I offered to go as his aid-de-camp, lie said no; that 
the force was mine ; and he would^ go as my aid-de-camp, or accompany me." 

Now, " to go" where? to " accompamf where? 

This, if not sufliciently explicit, is made entirely so by the certificate of 
Messrs. Spioden and Moseley, of the navy, offered by Commodore Stockton, in 
corroboration, under the sancti<m of his oath, and, of course, forming a proper 
interpretation of his words. This certificate is as follows: — 

" We, the undersigned, were present at a conversation held between Commo- 
dore Stockton and General Kearney, at San Diego, shortly after the arrival of 
the General, in which conversation the Commodore offered to give General 
Kearney the ' command-in-chicf of the forces he xcas 2rreparing to march with to 
the Ciudad de los Angeles, and to act as aid-de-camp. This offer the General de- 
clined, but said he woidd be most happy to go with the Commodore as his aid-de- 
camp, and assist him with his head and hand. 

"WiLLi.\M Spieden, U.S.N. 
"S.vuuEL Moseley, U. S. N. 

San Diego, February 5, 1847." 

Again, Commodore Stockton testifies that, at a subsequent interview, a few 
days afterwards, he made to General Kearney "the same offer, in pretty much 
the same language, and received pretty much the same answer." 

It is certain, then, that General Kearney's letter of the 22d December was 
not the inducing cause of the exi)cdition, as "believed," in General Kearney's 
testimony, and that "the march of the troops" was not a matter tliat Commo- 
dore Stockton "reluctantl}" assented to," as asserted in General Kearney's offi- 
cial letter; and is also certain that General Kearney could not have sujiposed 
either to be the case, for he liad been informed ten days before of the design to 
send the expedition; that it was "preparing to march;" and he had been twice 
offered, and had twice declined, the command of it. 

Commodore Stockton further testifies: — 

I now set to work to make the best preparations I could to commence our 
march for the Ciudad de los Angeles. 

During this time an expedition tliat had been sent to the South for horses re- 
turned, and brought with it a number of horses and cattle. Captain Turner 



APPENDIX B. 33 

was allowed to take his pick of the horses for the dragoons. After he had done 
so he wrote to me this note : — ■ 

San Diego, December 23, 1846, 
Commodore:— In compliance with your verbal instruction to examine and re- 
port upon the condition of the public horses turned over to me for the use of C 
company, 1st dragoons, I have the honour to state that in my opinion not one 
of the horses referred to is fit for dragoon service, being too poor and weak for 
any such purpose; also, that the company of dragoons under my command can 
do much better service on foot than if mounted on those horses. 
I am, sir, with high respect, your obedient servant,' 

H. S. Turner, 
Captain 1st dragoons, commanding company C. 
Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

United States Navy, commanding, &c. 

The exact day of the return of this expedition for horses and cattle does not 
appear. But, as there had been time for Captain Turner to be allowed to "take 
his pick" from the horses, examine them, and make a report upon them by the 
23d of December, it is nearly certain that it must have returned by the 22d; 
and hence it would seem that General Kearney's letter, sent to Commodore 
Stockton in the night of the last-mentioned day, in which he "recommends" 
the expedition, and in which he claims the whole merit of the march and to 
have induced Commodore Stockton reluctantly to consent to it, was not written 
till he had not only been repeatedly informed that the expedition was in pre- 
paration and he had been twice offered the command of it, but not till the 
horses and cattle for its use had actually arrived, and probably a part of them 
turned over to his own company of dragoons. This, indeed, is rendered nearly 
certain by the fact that the preparations for the expedition were so far advanced 
that Commodore Stockton's general orders for the march were issued on the day 
next following General Kearney's letter, which he pretends, under oath, to have 
been the inducing cause of the expedition. 

But General Kearney is entitled to the benefit of the "proof" which he 
vouches to the Department in this passage of his letter : — 

"I have to state that the march of the troops from San Diego to this place 
was reluctantly consented to by Commodore Stockton, on my urgent advice that 
he should not leave Colonel Fremont unsupported to fight a battle on which the 
fate of California might for a long time depend ; the correspondence to prove which 
is noio with my papers at San Diego, and a copy of which will be furnished to 
you on my return to that place." 

This "correspondence," as he certifies it on the twelfth day of the trial, con- 
sists of three letters and Commodore Stockton's general orders for the march. 
I will set out all of them: — 

San Diego, December 22, 1846. 

Dear Commodore: — If you can take from here a sufficient force to oppose the 
Californians, now supposed to be near the Pueblo and waiting for the approach 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, I advise that you do so, and that you march 
witii tiiat force as early as possible in the direction of the Pueblo, by which you 
will either be able to form a junction with Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont or make 
a diversion very much in his favour. 

I do not think that Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont should be left unsupported to 
fight a battle upon which the fate of Califurnia may, for a long time, depend, 
if there are troops here to act in concert with iiirn. Your force as it advances 
miglit surprise the enemy at the St. Louis mission, and make prisoners of them. 

I shall be happy, in such an expedition, to accompany you, and to give you 
any aid, either of head or hand, of which I may be capable. 

Yours, truly, 

To Commodore Stockton, S. W. Kearnev, Brigadier- General. 

Commanding United States forces, San Diego. 



34 Appendix c. 



Head-Quarters, San Diego, December 23, 1846. 
Dear General: — Your note of yesterday was handed to me last night by Cap- 
tain Turner of tlie dragoons. 

In reply to that note, permit me to refer you to the convernatinn held with you 
yesterday morning at yo^tr quarters. I stated to you distinctly tliat I intended to 
march upon St. Louis Rey as soon as possible, with a part of the force under my 
command, and that I was very desirous to march on to the Pueblo to co-operate 
with Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont; but my movements after, to St. Louis Key, 
would depend entirely upon the information that I might receive as to the 
movements of Colonel Fremont and the enemy. It might be necessary for me 
to stop the pass of San Felipe, or march back to San Diego. 

Now, my dear General, if the object of your note is to advise me to do any 
thing which would enable a largo force of the enemy to get into my rear and 
cut off my communication with San Diego, and hazard the safety of the garri- 
son and the ships in the harbour, you will excuse me for saying I cannot follow 
any such advice. 

My PURPOSE still is to march for St. Louis Rey as soon as lean get the dra- 
goons aiid rijlemen mounted, which I hope to do in two days. 
Faithfully, your obedient servant, 

R. F. Stockton, 
Commander-in-ch ief and Governor 

of the teiritory of California. 
To Brigadier-General S. "W. Kearney, 

United States Army. 

San Diego, December 23, 1846. 
Dear Commodore: — I have received yours of this date, repeating, as you say, 
what you stated to me yesterday, and in reply I have only to remark that, if I 
had so understood you, I certainly would not have written my letter to you of last 
evening. 

You certainly could not for a moment suppose that I would advise or suggest 
to you any movement which might endanger the safety of the garrison and the 
ships in the harbour. 

My letter of yesterday's date stated that "if you can take from here," &c., of 
which you were the judge, and of which I knew nothing. 

Truly yours, 

S. W. Kearney, Brigadier- General. 
Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

Commanding United States Navy, &c., San Diego. 

GENERAL ORDERS. 

The forces composed of Captain Tilghman's company of artillery, a detach- 
ment of the 1st regiment of dragoons, companies A and B of the California 
battalion of mounted riflemen, and a detachment of sailors and marines, from 
the frigates Congress and Savannah and the ship Portsmouth, will take up the 
line of march for the Ciiidad de los Angeles on Monday morning, the 28th 
instant, at 10 o'clock, a. m. 

By order of the commander-in-chief. 

J. ZlELIN, 

Brevet Captain and Adjutant. 
San Diego, December 23, 1846. 

The character of this correspondence entirely destroys General Kearney's 
asseverations, — both the one in his report that Commodore Stockton "reluctantly 
consented" to the march of the troops, and the one bef(}re the court that he 
"believed" that the expedition was organized in consequence of his letter of 
advice. 

Commodore Stockton's letter is explicit both of his present and previous 



APPENDIX B. 35 

"intention," '^desire," and "purpose," to march "as soon as possible;" while the 
reference to the dragoons, which were General Kearney's especial corps, shows 
that the subject of the expedition must have been previnusly entertained between 
the two correspondents. Allow General Kearney, however, the benefit of any 
misunderstanding, touching Commodore Stockton's disposition and intentions, 
that he may have been under when he wrote his letter ; the Commodore's reply 
corrects all such mistakes, and leaves General Kearney's subsequent assertions 
on this head direct contradictions of the declarations of Commodore Stockton. 

The next question in connection with this expedition is, icho teas its com- 
mander? General Kearney says he was; Commodore Stockton, sustained by 
the testimony of many others, says he was. As it could not have had two com- 
manders at the same time, I will compare the testimony. General Kearney's 
claim first comes to attention in a letter to the Department, of which the follow- 
ing is the first paragraph : — 

Head-Quarters, Army or the West, 
CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, January 12, 1847. 

Sir: — I have the honour to report that, at the request of Commodore R. F. 
Stockton, United States Navy, (who in September last assumed the title of gover- 
nor of California,) I consented to take command of an expedition to this place, 
(the capital of the country,) and that on the 29th December, I left San Diego 
with aljout five hundred men, consisting of sixty dismounted dragoons, under 
Captain Turner, fifty California volunteers, and the remainder of marines and 
sailors, with a battery of artillery ; Lieutenant Emory (topographical engineers) 
acting as assistant Adjutant-General. Commodore Stockton accompanied us." 

Here the claim to have been the commander is plain, unequivocal, and uncon- 
ditional. In his letter to me, however, of the same date, (January 12th,) he 
expresses it perhaps even more strongly; since Commodore Stockton is not 
mentioned at all, and the pronoun "I" and "me" exclude the idea of any par- 
ticipant in the " possession" or command : 

PUEBLA DE LOS AnGELES, 

January 12, 1847. — Tuesday, 6 p. m. 
Dear Fremont : — I am here in possession of this place, with sailo7's and marines. 
We met and defeated the whole force of the Californians the 8th and 9th. They 
have not now to exceed three hundred men concentrated. Avoid charging them, 
and come to 7«e at this place. 

Acknowledge the hour of receipt of this, and when I may expect you. Re- 
gards to Russell. Yours, 

S. W. Kearney, Brigadier- General. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont. 

At the next step. General Kearney slightly varies his claim, and admits some 
qualification to the completeness of his command. This is on his cross- 
examination. 

Fourth day of the trial. 

In the latter end of December, an expedition was organized at San Diego to 
march to Los Angeles, to assist Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, and it was organ- 
ized in consequence, as I believe, of this paper, which is a copy of a letter from 
me to Commodore Stockton, (referring to his letter to Commodore Stockton of 
December 22.) Commodore Stockton at that time was acting as Governor of 
California, so styling himself. * * * * He determined on the expedition, and 
on the morning of the 29th December the troops were paraded at San Diego for 
the march. The troops consisted of about five hundred sailors and marines, 
about sixty dragoons, and about forty or fifty volunteers. While they were on 
parade. Commodore Stockton called several officers together ; Captain Turner, 
of the dragoons, and Lieutenant Minor of the navy, I know were there, and 
eeveral others. He then remarked to them to the following purport: — 

"Gentlemen, General Kearney has kindly consented to take the command of 



36 ^^PENDIX B. 

the troops on the expedition; you will, therefore, look upon him fis your com- 
mander. I shall tjo along as governor and conimander-in-chicj' in California." 
"We marched towards Los Angeles," &c. * * * * "The troops, u/ttier ;m^ co»i- 
inand, marched into Los Angeles on the 10th of January," &c. 

At the next stage, in reply to a question of the judge-advocate, he returns to 
the positive and unconditional assertion of command: — 

'•By the act of Cummodure Stockton, who styled himself Governor of Cali- 
fornia, the sailors and marines were placed under my command, on the 29th 
December, 184G, for the march to Los Angeles. I commanded tuem on the ex- 
pedition; Commodore Stockton accompanied us. I exercised no command what- 
ever over Commodore Stockton, nor did he exert any whatever over me." 

Afterwards (fourteenth day) under examination l)y the court, and when infor- 
mation had been received here of the arrival of Commodore Stockton in the 
country, the witness greatly modified his position on this point, and admits 
several acts of authority done on the march by Commodore Stockton, and that 
he "felt it his duty" to "consult the wishes" of the Commodore. 

" I found Commodore Stockton, on my arrival at San Diego, on the 12th 
Deceml)er, 184G, in command of the Pacific squadron, having several ships, 
either two or three, in the harbour at that place. Most of his sailors were on 
shore. He had assumed the title of Governor of California in the month of 
August previous. All at San Diego addressed him as ^Governor.' I did the 

SAME. 

"After he hfid determined on the march from San Diego to Los Angeles, the 
troops being paraded for it on the 29th December, he in the presence of several 
officers, among whom were myself. Captain furner of the dragoons, and Lieu- 
tenant Minor, of the navy, and others, whose names I do not recollect, re- 
marked to them, 'Gentlemen, General Kearney has kindly consented to take 
command of the troops in this expedition; you will, therefore, consider him as 
your commander. I will go along as governor and commander-in-chief i)i Cali- 
fornia.' Under Commodore Stockton's directions every arrangement for the expe- 
dition was made. I had nothing whatever to do with it. We marched from San 
Diego to Los Angeles. While on the march, a few days before reacliing Los 
Angeles, a commission of tw» citizens, as I believe, on behalf of Governor 
Flores, came to Commodore Stockton with a communication to liira as the 
governor or commander-in-chief in California. Commodore Stocldon replied 
to that communication tvithaut consrdting me. On the march I at no time con- 
sidered Commodore Stockton under my direction ; nor did I at any time con- 
sider myself under his. His assimilated rank to officers of the army at that 
time was, and now is, and will for upwards of a year remain, that of a colonel. 

"Although I did not consider myself a< a)iy time, or under any circumstances, 
as under the orders of Commodore Stockton, yet, as so large a portion of my com- 
mand was of sailors and marines, I felt it my duty on all important subjects to 
con.mlt his wis/ies, and, as Jar as I consistently could do so, to comply with them." 

But it was not till the fifty-first day of this trial, when he had had the benefit 
of several weeks' reflection, added to information of the character of the testi- 
mony delivered by Commodore Stockton and others, and when he came into 
court fortified with his own questions, drawn up by himself to square with pro- 
arranged answers, that he could be brought to the point of admitting that, 
during the march, the Commodore had exercised the prerogative of sending him 
what he calls "messages" but the Commodore calls "orders," and had directed 
many movements of the expedition. But even this day's admissions are so re- 
luctant, and with so many reservations, that for the plain fact other testimony 
must necessarily be brought in. 

General Kearney recites twice, and with much particularity in his testimony 
to this point, his version of what Commodore Stockton said to the troops before 
marching from San Diego on the su))ject of the command; labouring, by an 
ingenious turn of the last clause, to draw a distinction between the commander-in- 
chief in the territory and the commander-in-chief of the troops. This is his pre- 
cise version of Governor Stockton's remarks: — "Gentlemen, General Kearney 
has kindly consented to take command of the troops in this expedition; you 



APPENDIX B. 37 

will therefore look upon him as your commander. I shall go along as gover- 
nor and commauder-i/i-chief in California. 

This fine-spun distinction seems, in fact, the corner-stone of General Kearney's 
claim to have been the Commander of tlie expedition ; for, while he constantly 
persists in that pretension, he as constantly admits that Commodore Stockton 
was the Governor and commander in the territory. 

I do not refer to this because I attach any value to the point in itself. For 
any argument that I desire, the version given by General Kearney would answer 
as well as any other; for, if Commodore Stockton was Governor and commander- 
in-chief o/" California, his authority was sufficient fur my case, since Los Ange- 
les, where I believe the charges are all laid, is certainly within that province. 
But the distinction drawn in the version given by the witness was considered 
important by him, and that version is contradicted: and this is the point of 
view in which I present it. It is contradicted by Commodore Stockton, Lieu- 
tenant Gray. Lieutenant Minor, and the certificate of Lieutenant Rowan, all 
whose concurrent testimony affirms that Commodore Stockton's reservation of 
authority related to the commander-in-chief of the expedition, without the words 
of qualification to which General Kearney testifies ; and it is worthy of note 
that, though a witness of the prosecution. Captain Turner, was present at the 
address, the prosecution have not thought proper to bring him to sustain Gene- 
ral Kearney thus contradicted. 

A few detached passages from the testimony will show how materially Gene- 
ral Kearney is contradicted, in other respects, upon this point of the command: — 

General Kearney. — " By the act of Commodore Stockton, the sailors and marines 
were placed under viy command. I commanded them on the expedition." 

Commodore Stockton. — "During which march I performed all the duties which 
I supposed devolved on the commander-in-chief." 

General Kearney. — "I exercised no command whatever over Commodore 
Stockton, nor did he exert any whatever over me." 

Commodore Stockton. — "I was in the habit oi sending my aid-de-camp to Gene- 
ral Kearney to inform him what time I ivished to move in the morning; and I 
always decided on the route we should take, and tohen and where we should 
encamp." 

General Kearney. — " The troops wider my command matched into Los Ange- 
les on the 10th of January." 

Commodore Stockton. — " And when we marched into the city, lied the way, ai 
tM head of the advanced guard." 

General Kearney. — "On the march I at no time considered Commodore Stock- 
ton under my direction, nor did I, at any time, consider myself under his." 

Commodore Stockton. — "I observed the guns being unlimbered; I was told it 
was done by order of General Kearney to return the fire of the enemy ; / 
ordered the guns limbered up, and the forces to cross the river before a shot was 
fired." "I observed that the men of the right flank had been formed into a 
square, and General Kearney at their head. 1 sent my aid-de-camp, Mr. Gray, 
to General Kearney, loith instructions to move that square, and two pieces of 
artillery, immediately up the hill." 

General Kearney. — "During our march many messages were brought to me 
from Commodore Stockton; those messages I looked upon as suggestions and 
expressions of his wishes. I have since then learned that he considered them in 
the light of orders." 

Commodore Stockton. — "I sent for Captain Emory; I asked him by whose 
order the camp was making below the hill. He said by General Kearney's order. 
I told him to go to General Kearney and tell him that it was my order that the 
camp should be immediately moved to the top of the hill." "I sent my aid-de- 
camp, Mr. Gray, to General Kearney, with instructions to move," &c. "The 
witness, (Commodore Stockton,) in enumerating some of the orders given and 
some of the details executed by himself, meant merely to cite instances in which 
General Kearney recognised and acknowledged his (the witness's) command-in- 
chief on the field of battle as well as in t/ie march." 

General Kearney. — "During our march, his (Commodore Stockton's) authority 



38 ^PPENDIX B. 

and command, {hough it did not extend over me, or over the troops which he had 
himself' (/iren me, extended far beyond," &c. 

Commodore Stockton. — "Commodore R. F. Stoctton begs leave to add, &c., that 
he wislios to bo understood as moaning dis^tinctly to convoy tlie idea that General 
Kearnov was fully invested with the command of the troops in the battles of the 8th 
and 9th of January, subject to the orders of him, the tcitness, as commander-in- 
cuiEK. Most and nearly all the execution of details was confided to General Kear- 
ney as SECOND in command." "He could not attempt to enumerate and specify 
the many and important acts of General Kearney cw second in command." "When 
the troops arrived at San Bernardo, I made my head-quarters a mile or two 
miles in advance of the camp; and / sent to General Kearney to send me the 
marines and a piece of artiltei-y, which was immediately done." "7 ordered 
Vie troops all to lie down," d-c. "After having directed the troops to be formed, 
&c., 1 took the marine guard and two pieces of artillery," &c. "On my return, 
/gave orders where the diiferent officers and troops were to be quartered, and 
ORDERED the eamc fag," &c. 

General Kearney. — "I exerted no command whatever over Commodore Stock- 
ton, nor did lie exert any whaiever over me." 

Lieutenant Gray. — "Question. — Did you bear an order from Commodore 
Stockton on the 8th of January, in the field, to General Kearney? if so, state 
the order and all the circumstances. 

"Answer. — I did bear an order from Commodore Stockton to General Kearney 
on the 8th of January, ou the field of battle. The enemy had been observed to 
withdraw his guns from the height. The Commodore directed me to go to 
General Kearney, and say to him to send a square and a field-piece immediately 
up on the height, to prevent the enemy's returning with their guns. I went 
and gave him the order, and, on my return to Commodore Stocktcm, observed tlie 
division or square of General Kearney moving towards the hill. 

"Question. — Did you bear that order to General Kearney in your character of 
aid-do-camp to Commodore Stockton, the commander-in chief? 

" Answer. — Yes. 

"Question by the judge-advocate. — Do you recollect the words and manner in 
which you delivered that order ; did you deliver it so that General Kearney 
must have received it as an order, or merely as a suggestion? 

" Answer. — I carried it as an order, in the usual respectful way. How Gene- 
ral Koarnoy received it, I, of course, cannot say. He did not show, by his man- 
ner, that it was disagreeable to him, according to the best of my recolJection." 

Finally, I shall conclude this point by showing that General Kearney did not, 
and could not, at any time, have considered himself the commander of the 
expedition, or of the troops composing it, and was not so considered by the 
army officers who had accompanied him into California, and were there. 
Because, 

1. The place which General Kearney held in the expedition was that which 
had 1)oen before assigned to a lieutenant of the navy, serving under Commodore 
Stockton, and this General Kearney knew. This is the testimony of Commo- 
dore Stockton: — 

"After the forces had been paraded preparatory to the march, and I was 
about mounting my horse. General Kearney came to me and inquired, who was 
to command the troops. I said to him. Lieutenant Rowan, first lieutenant of 
the Cyaiie, woidd commund them. He gave me to understand that he would like 
to command the troops, and, after some further conversation on the sul»ject, / 
agreed to appoint him to tlie command, and immediately sent for Lieutenant 
Rowan," &c. 

2. Because, at the moment of receiving the appointment, he was informed that 
the command-in-chief was reserved by Commodore Stockton. This is Commo- 
dore Stockton's testimony to this point: — 

"I immediately scut for Lieutenant Rowan, and, assembling the officers that 
were near at hand, stated to them that General Kearney had volunteered to take 
command of Uie troops, but that 1 retained my own position as commander-in- 



APPENDIX B. 39 

chief. I directed my aid-de-camp, and the commissary who was with me, to 
take a note of what I said on the occasion." 

And to the same effect is the testimony of Lieutenant Gray and Lieutenant 
Minor, and the certificate of Lieutenant Rowan. 

3. Because both General Kearney and the officers under him received and 
obeyed the orders of Commodore Stockton, in some instances in opposition to 
those first given by General Kearney, both on the march and in the battles. 
The evidence on this point need not be recapitulated. Commodore Stockton 
testifies to it, Lieutenant Gray testifies to it, Lieutenant Minor testifies to it, 
and Lieutenant Emory testifies to having received and obeyed orders from Com- 
modore Stockton. 

4. Because Lieutenant Emory, attached to General Kearney's dragoon escort, 
and acting as assistant adjutant-general, did not make his official report of losses 
in action in the expedition to General Kearney, but to Commodore Stockton. 
True, General Kearney says this was done "without his knowledge or consent;" 
but that is only the stronger proof that he was not regarded or respected as the 
commander-in-chief, even by his confidential supporters and military family. 

5. Because he admitted to Colonel Russell, as appears repeatedly in Colonel 
Russell's testimony, that he was serving under Commodore Stockton, and had been 
serving under him from San Diego. 

6. Because, when I delivered to him, and he read in my presence, my letter 
to him of 17th January, in which is this passage: — 

"J learned also in conversation with you that on tJie march from San Diego, 
recently, to this j)lace, you entered upon and discharged duties implying an 
acknowledgment on your part of supremacy to Commodore Stockton," he made 
no denial of it, or objection to it. 

7. Because, on the IGth of January, he applied, in writing, to Commodore 
Stockton, "advising" and "offering" "to take one-half" of the command, and 
march to "form a junction," &c., addressing Commodore Stockton in that letter 
as "Governor of California, commanding United States forces." 

On the eighth day of the trial General Kearney testified as follows : — 

" Question. — Do you know whether the officers of the battalion raised it and 
marched it under commission from Commodore Stockton ? 

"Answer. — I have always understood that Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont had 
raised that battalion under the direction of Commodore Stockton. 

" Question. — With what commission ? 

"Answer. — I never heard of Commodore Stockton conferring a commission on 
Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont further than having appointed him military com- 
mandant of California." 

The object of this inquiry was not, by any means, to get an opportunity to 
discredit the witness. The object was to ascertain before the court that the bat- 
talion was enlisted, organized, and officered exclusively under naval authority, 
and so, of course, subject to the orders of the naval commander; and also to 
ascertain if these facts were not within the knowledge of the witness when he 
attempted to get command of the battalion in opposition to Commodore Stock- 
ton ; both being inquiries pertinent to the issues of the trial, and the facts 
being what was desired. But the nature of the last answer was such as to 
leave the original inquiries unsettled and to open a new one. 

The answer was this: — '^I never heard of Commodore Stockton's conferring a 
commission on Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont further than having appointed him 
military commandant of California." 

And the new question raised was whether, in fact, the witness had "never 
heard" of a matter so notorious in that country. Accordingly, on the next day, 
General Kearney having mentioned the receipt on the 16th December, 1846, of 
a certain communication from Commodore Stockton, this question was put: — 

" Question. — Did not Commodore Stockton, in that communication, injorm you 
that Captain Fremont had been appointed by him major, and Lieutenant Gil- 
lespie, of the marines, captain, in the California battalion?" 

And, a copy of the paper having been shown to the witness, he answered : — 

" Answer. — Among the papers sent to me by Commodore Stockton on the 16th 



40 ^IPPENDIX B. 

December, was a copy of his letter to the Xavy Department, dat^d August 28, 
184G, the second paraj^raph of which states that he had organized a California 
battalion of mounted riflemen, by the appointment of all the necessary ofiBcers, 
and received them as volunteers in the service of the United States; fJiat Cap- 
tain Fremont was appointed major, and Lieutenant Gillespie captain of ike bat- 
talion." 

Again, on the 13th day of the trial, two other papers were shown to the wit- 
ness, with this question : — 

"Were not copies of these two papers, describing him (Fremont) as Major 
Fremont, among those furnished to you by Commodore Stockton at San Diego? 
And were not co]iies of them filed in the War Department by yt)u since your 
return from California and after your arrival in this city in Septeml)er last? 

"Answer, (after reading over the papers.) — I think that copies of these 
papers icere furnished to me by Commodore Stockton." 

To the hitter part of the question, " Were they not filed by you in the War 
Department since your return from California and after your arrival in this city 
in Se])tember last." " I see on the ])apers the certificate of Captain Townsend 
that I did so; I think Captain Townsend is mistaken." 

But on the following day he admitted that Captain Townsend was not mis- 
taken ; that the papers had been put into his hands by Commodore Stockton in 
December, 184G, and had been filed by him in the War Office as late as the 21st 
September last? From all this, however, it only resulted that he had seen of the 
appointment of Fremont as major; that he had " never heard" of it was not yet 
disproved. 

This was accomplished in his testimony on the ninth day, when he admitted 
as follows : — 

"Commodore Stockton (7uZ inform me, in the conversation alluded to between 
us, that California had been conquered in July and August of the same year, 
(this conversation was held in December,) and that Major Fremont had gone to 
the North to raise men," &c. 

In the same connection and for the same purpose the question arose whether 
Lieutenant Gillespie, of the marine corps, was not also an officer of the bat- 
talion : and the answer of the witness was again such as not only to leave the 
original question open, but to raise the new one, which brings the subject within 
this branch of my defence. The witness's answer was as follows : — 

" Captain Gillespie had marched with me from San Diego to Los Angeles, 
and was serving under me. If his company was with the California battalion I 

DID NOT KNOW IT." 

It appeared, however, on examination, that the same communication (of 28th 
August, 184G) that informed the witness that Fremont had been appointed 
major of the battalion also informed liim that Gillespie had been appointed 
captain in it. It further appeared that, in the surgeon's list of killed and 
wounded in the actions of 8th and 9th January, furnished by Lieutenant Emory 
to General Kearney, and by him sent to the department, Captain Gillespie is 
reported as an officer of the California battalion; and Captain Gillespie himself 
gave the following emphatic testimony : — 

"Question. — Did yi)u at any time communicate to General Kearney your rank 
and position in tiio California battalion? If so, when and where was that com- 
munication made ? 

"Answer. — I did communicate to General Kearney my position in the battalion 
on the 5th of Deceml)er, 1846, about one o'clock in the day, in the mountains 
about half-way between Santa Maria and Santa Isabel. When I met him I 
was at the head of a detachment of volunteers and sailors, I having been ordered 
by Commodore Stockton to proceed to Warner's Pass to communicate with 
General Kearney." 

These inquiries concerning the raising and officering of the battalion were to 
matters connected intimately with the issues of the trial, and the answers of 
the witness seemed to indicate a consciousness of it. But I do not desire to pre- 
sent them in any other light than as instances of defective and equivocating 
memory, and in that view affecting the general credit of his testimony. 



APPENDIX C. 41 

Under the s,ime infirmity of memory I am willing to class the extraordinary 
facility of omission betrayed by the witness in his manner, which seems to be 
habitual, of half-tellmg where whole-telling is essential. Thus : On the third day 
of the trial he commences an answer in these words: — "About the 14th Janu- 
ary, 1847. Ireceived from Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont a communication, dated," 
&c. — the inference being, of course, that my communication was voluntary ; the 
fact (and most important one, too) being that it was drawn out by no less than 
Jom- importunate letters that I had before received. Again, in continuation of 
the same narration : — " On the day subsequent, viz., on the 17th January, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fremont catne to my quarters, and in conversation," &c. — the 
inference being, of course, that I went at my own instance, whereas the fact 
(most material and relevant, and deciding the character of the interview) turned 
out that I went in compliance with the written request of the witness to see me 
"on business." Again, same day. — "I was first met by a detachment from 

Commodore Stockton," &c "It came from Commodore Stockton to give 

me information," &c. ; the inference being that it went voluntarily or 

was sent by Commodore Stockton of his own motion, — the important fact ap- 
pearing, however, when Commodore Stockton came on the stand, three weeks 
after, that it was sent out at the written request of General Kearney for a party 
"to open communication with him," &e. So, in the same letter making this 
application, he writes to Commodore Stockton as follows : — '^Your express, by Mr. 
Carson, was met on the Del Xorte, and your mail must have reached Washington 
at least ten days since" — omitting the material fact that Mr. Carson, in addition 
to being met, was likewise turned hack, and leaving the inference that he had 
gone on. Again, in his testimony on the sixth day of the trial, speaking of his 
position on the hill of San Bernardo, the witness says : — " I stated to the doctor 
and others that we would leave next morning, which we accordingly did ; Lieu- 
tenant Gray, of the navy, with a gallant command, oj" sailors and marines, having 
come into our camp the night previous" — the inference being that Lieutenant 
Gray and his command came voluntarily or by chance into the camp, the fact 
being that it was a detachment of two hundred and fifteen men sent from San 
Diego expressly for the relief of General Kearney's camp and in pursuance of 
his repeated urgent calls for succour — one of them (that by Lieutenant Beale, 
Mr. Carson, and the Indian) conveyed through the enemy's lines and an insur- 
gent population under circumstances of devotion and courage unsurpassed, but 
no mention of which is found in the official report or in any part of the testi- 
piony of General Kearney. 



APPENDIX C. 



The folloimnq statement is cqjpended in a note to Mr. Benton's Speech, 
July, 1848, on the brevet nomination of General Kearney. See 
Appendix to Congressional Globe, 1848. 

Mr. Carson has since arrived in Washington and given me the following stiite- 
ment in relation to the turning back, the truth of which, as of every thing else 
that he says, I underwrite: — 

Statement of Mr. C. Carson. 

I met General Kearney with his troops on the 6th of December, a short dis- 
tance below Santa Fe. I had heard before of their coming, and, when I met 
them, the first thing I told them was that they were " too late" — that California 



42 ^APPENDIX C. 

was cnnquerpfl, and the United States flag raised in all parts of the country. 
But General Kearney said he would go on, and said something about going to 
establish a civil government. I told him a civil government was already 
established, and Colonel Fremont appointed governor, to commence as soon as 
he returned from the North, some time in that very month, (October.) 

General Kearney said that that was no difference, — that he was a friend of 
Colonel Fremont, and he would make him governor himself. He began from the 
first to insist (m my turning back to guide him into California. I told him I could 
not turn back; that I had pledged myself to Commodore Stockton and Colonel 
Fremont to take their despatches through to Washington cit}', and to return with 
them as far as New Mexico, where my family lived, and to carry them all the 
way back if I did not find some one at Santa F^ that I could trust as well as I 
could myself; that I had promised them I would reach Washington in sixty 
days, and that they should have return despatches from the government in one 
hundred and twenty days. I had performed so much of the journey in the ap- 
pointed time, and, in doing so, had already worn out and killed thirty-four mules; 
that Stockton and Fremont had given me letters of credit to persons on the way 
to furnish me with all the animals I needed, and all supplies to make the trip 
to Washington and back in the one hundred and twenty days; and that I waa 
pledged to them and could not disappoint them; and, besides, that I was under 
more obligations to Colonel Fremont than to any other man alive. General 
Kearney would not hear any such thing as my going on. lie told me he was a 
friend to Colonel Fremont and Colonel Benton, and all the family, and would 
send on the despatches by Mr. Fitzpatrick, who had been with Colonel Fremont 
in his exploring party, and was a good 'riend to him, and would take the de- 
spatches through and bring them back as quick as I could. 

When he could not persuade me to turn back, he then told me that he had a 
right to make me go with him, and insisted on his right; and I did not consent 
to turn back till he had made me believe that he had a right to order me; and 
then, as Mr. Fitzpatrick was going on with the despatches, and General Kearney 
seemed such a good friend of the Colonel's, I let him take me back ; and I guided 
him through, but with great hesitation, and had prepared every thing to escape 

in the night before they started, and made known my intention to Maxwell, 

who urged me not to do so. 

More than twenty times on the road General Kearney told me about his being 
a friend to Colonel Benton and Colonel Fremont, and all their family, and that 
he intended to make Colonel Fremont the Governor of California ; and all this 
of his own accoi-d, as we were travelling along or in camp, and without my 
asking him a word about it. I say more than twenty times, for I cannot re- 
member how many times, it was such a common thing for him to talk about it. 

This statement I make at the request of Senator Benton, but had much rather 
be examined in a court of justice, face to face with General Kearney, and there 
tell at once ail that I know about General Kearney's battles and conduct in 
California. 



APPENDIX D. 43 



APPENDIX D. 



Extract from Appendix to Senator Benton's Speech in Executive Ses- 
sion, on the brevet nomination of Brigadier-General Kearney for 
3Iaj or- General, delivered July, 1848, and printed in Appendix to 
Congressional Globe of that date. 

QUESTION OF SUPREMACY BETWEEN COMMODORE STOCKTON AND GENERAL KEARNEY 

IN CALIFORNIA. 

1. Note from Mr. Robert Sample, editor of the " Californian," dated April 24, 
1847, asking him to state the circumstances of the march and campaign from 
San Diego to Los Angeles, taken from the " Californian" of July 17, 1847. 

Monterey, April 24, 1847. 
Dear Sir : — Some facts have come to my knowledge, which make it proper for 
me to request you to write the facts which occurred at San Diego previous to the 
march of the American forces on Los Angeles, and the manner of conducting 
the campaign ; not for publication, or to be used without your permission, but to 
be kept, that it may be used, should such necessity arise. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

E. Semplk. 
S. W. Kearney, 

Brigadier- General and Governor of California. 



2. Statement of Mr. Semple in the " Californian" of the 17th of July, near 
three months after writing the above note, showing that it was written to Gene- 
ral Kearney in consequence of a communication from Commodore Stockton of 
the 10th of March previous, asserting his supremacy of command in the San 
Diego and Los Angeles expedition ; and that General Kearney made no answer 
to it, but held the editor to his accountability if he should publish Stockton's 
statement and the vouchers which accompanied it. 

The above letter was written on my return to Monterey, and after the receipt 
of Commodore Stockton's letter and the accompanying documents. Several 
days passed, and, having received no answer, I called on the General and in- 
formed him of the purport of Commodore Stockton's letter, and he refused to 
release me from responsibility in the publication of the papers alluded to. I 
immediately wrote to Commodore Stockton, informing him of the fact, and ask- 
ing if he insisted on their publication. My great object in delaying the papers 
was, that it was a personal difficulty between Kearney and Stockton, and might 
be much better settled in the United States, and would be productive of no good 
here, either to the parties or to the country. 



3. Commodore Stockton's letter to the Editor of the " Californian," 10th of 
March, 1847, asserting his own command in the expedition, and contradicting 
an editorial article of the 13th of February, in that paper, claiming the com- 
mand for Kearney. 



44 ^APPENDIX D. 

United States Frigate Congress, 
Harbour of San Diego, March 10, 1847. 

TO THE editors OF THE "CALIFORNIAN," MONTEREY: 

Gexti.emen': — In an editorial article in the "Californian" of the 13th Febru- 
ary, )"ou nKiy finrl the fi)llo\vin<!; parajira])!! : — 

" Commodore Stockton announced to the officers that the inhole expedition was 
placed under the command of General Kearney, himself holding his station as 
Commander-in-chief of California, and General Kearney did command the tcJiole 
expeditioji." 

I take the first opportunity to say to you that the above paragraph is not tnie 
in any one of its important particuhars. It is not true that I phiced the whole 
exjwdition under the command of General Kearney, nor did I so announce it. 

On the request of General Kearney, and with the consent of Lieutenant 
Rowan, (to whom, with the consent of Lieutenant Minor, who had previously 
held it, I had given the command only the night before,) I appointed General 
Kearney to command the troops, and so announced it; at the same time, stated 
distinctly that I still retained my own position as Commander-in-chief. The 
word California did not pass my lips upon that occasion. 

Now, Messrs. Editors, if you say that I delegated, or intended to delegate, to 
General Kearney, or to any one else, any part of my duty or authority as the 
director of the expedition or Commander-in-chief of the forces, or that General 
Kearney, or any other person but myself, exercised, or pretended to exercise, 
any such power or authority from the time we left San Diego until Ave arrived 
at the Ciudad de los Angeles, then I must say to you that all such statements 
are false. 

But, Messrs. Editors, it is quite true that " Commodore Stockton did leave 
San Diego at the head of the forces at his command," and marched into the 
Ciudad de los Angeles in the same way. 

There are other most glaring misstatements in the editorial referred to, which, 
no doubt, in due season, will be corrected. In the mean time, go on. 

Sic iter ad astra. 

Your obedient servant, 

R. F. ST0CKT0^f. 

P.S. — This communication has been delayed in the hope that I could be at 
Monterey before this time. 



4. Letter from Purser Speiden, of the 16th of March, to the same Editor, con- 
tradicting the same editorial, avowing himself the author of a letter in which an 
account of the expedition was given, and Commodore Stockton treated as the 
Commander-in-chief. 

United States Ship Congress, 
San Diego, March IG, 1847. 

to the editors of the "californian," Monterey: — 

Gentlemen : — I have noticed, in an extra sheet of your paper, under date of 
the 2Sth of January last, an account of the battles of the 8th and Uth of January, 
on the banks of Sun Gabriel and plains of the Mesa, taken from a communica- 
tion from an officer of the Congress, dated Ciudad de los Angeles, 14th -January. 

On referring to a "Californian" of the 13th February following, 1 find in the 
editorial column of that paper the following sentences, having reference to the 
communication referred to: — 

"Our object in referring to this letter is to do justice to two brave and dis- 
tinguished officers, General Kearney and Captain Mervine." 

The writer of this letter states that, in the march from San Diego to Los 
Angeles, the whole was under the immediate command of Commodore Stock- 
ton ; while the truth is, that previous to taking up the line of march, Coramo- 



APPENDIX D. 46 

dore Stockton announced to the oiEcers that the whole expedition was placed 
under the commanii of General Kearney, himself holding his station as Com- 
mander-in-chief of California, and General Kearney did command the whole 
expedition, and Captain Turner the dragoons alluded to. 

As the writer of the communication referred to is the subscriber, he now re- 
quests you to publish the enclosed papers, marked A and B, that the public 
may judge who the party is, dealing in error and untruths. 

Should the truth of the communication, a copy of which is herewith enclosed, 
be sustained by the evidence adduced, the editors must see, and the public too, 
the palpable misrepresentation of the editorial report. 

The undersigned has nothing to do with the notices of the editors in defend- 
ing the military character of General Kearney and Captain Mervine, which it 
was not his intention to attack, and he leaves it with the public to judge how far 
his expression in the communication, " The success attending the Californians in 
their fight with Captain Mervine, and aj'terivards with General Kearney, made 
them very hold and arrogant," is a matter of notoriety. 

The only object of the undersigned in making the communication was that 
you, sirs, might give publicity to an event that would be interesting to your 
American readers, at least, not dreaming it would call forth so unjust an attack 
by you upon his veracity. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Wm. Speidek. 



5. Statement of four naval officers, of the 9th of March, attesting that Commo- 
dore Stockton was Commander-in-chief in that expedition : — 

San Diego, March 9, 1847. 
Sir : — In answer to your letter of the 8th instant, we have to state that the 
expedition from San Diego to the Ciudad de los Angeles was conceived and 
fitted out by Commodore Stockton, and commanded by him as Commander-in- 
chief, and as such he was recognised from its conception to its successful termi- 
nation at the Ciudad de los Angeles. 

Commodore Stockton gave all orders and directions during the march com- 
porting with the dignity of Commander-in-chief, and all flags of truce were re- 
ferred to him. Commodore Stockton replied to General Flores (who signed 
himself Commander-in-chief and Governor of California) that he would have 
nothing to do with any man, or set of men, who did not acknowledge him 
(Commodore Stockton) as Commander-in-chief and Governor of California. 

We consider General Kearney as second in command from the time we left 
San Diego to the termination of the expedition; and wo believe he was so con- 
sidered by all the officers of the expedition. 

With the highest respect, we remain your obedient servants, 
S. C. Rowan, Lt. U. S. N. and Major. 
Geo. Minor, Lt. U. S. N. atid Q. M. 
J. Zeilin, 1st Lt. U. S. N. and Bt. Capt. and A. Bat. 
W. Speiden, Purser U. S. N. and Com'y. 



6. Statement of fifteen naval officers, including the other four, attesting the 
truth of tlie n xirative contained in the letter of Purser Speiden to the Editor of 
the "Californian." The letter is a detailed narrative, ■\\Tittpn immediately after 
the expedition, and, in recounting events, always speaking of Commodore Stock- 
ton as Commander-in-chief, it not being known at Los Angeles at the time of 
writing tliat letter, (14th January,) that General Kearney claimed to have been 
the commander. 



46 ^APPENDIX D. 

"We the underslpnod, officers of the United States Ship Congress, who accom- 
panied the troops under the command of Commodore R. F. Stockton, in the 
niarcli from San Piego to the Ciudad de los Angeles, and ■who were present 
during the fight of the 8th and 9th of January, do certify to the correctness of 
the above narration. 

J. Guest, Acting Lieiiienani. 

W. II. Thomson, Acting Lieutenant. 

J. Zeii.en, \st Litvt. and Bit. Cupt. U. S. M. C. 

J. M. DtNTAN, Acting Master. 

C. EvERSFiELD, Assistant Surgeon. 

T. Lee, Miclshijmian. 

B. F. Wells, Midshipman. 

P. II. Haywood, Midshipman and Acting Lieut, 
on the march. 

R. C. Duval, " " " 

W. Simmons, Com.'s Clerk. 

J. SouTHwicK, Carpenter. 

J. Peed, Sailmaker. 

I cheerfully coincide in the opinion expressed by the ahove-named officers. 
G. Minor, Lieut. U. S. N. and Quartermaster 
on the march. 

I believe the written account of our march on the Ciudad de los Angeles to be 
circumstantially correct. 

S. C. Rowan, Lieut. U. S. N. and Major of Brigade. 

We do hereby certify that we have compared the above copy with the com- 
munication made by Purser Speiden to Walter Colton, Editor of the " Califor- 
nian," and find it to be a correct copy. 

J. W. Livingston, Lieut. Com'g United States 

Frigate Congress. 
S. IMosELY, Surgeon, United Slates Frigate Congress. 
United States Ship Congress, 
San Diego, March 11, 1847. 



7. Official Letter from General Kearney to Commodore Stockton, at Los An- 
geles, January 13, applying to Commodore Stockton, as his Commander-in-chief, 
for leave to take part of the command, and to go to the relief of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fremont. 

Head-Quarters, Army of the West, 
Ciudad de los Angeles, U. C, January 13, 1847. 
Sir: — I fear, from the armistice which I this morning saw, signed by Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Fremont, and sent to me by you, that our countrymen under 
Colonel Fremont are entirely ignorant of our being here ; that they are embar- 
rassed in their movements. And I further fear that, unless something is done 
at once to inform them of the true state of affairs here, they may capitulate and 
retire to the upper country. 

To avoid so serious an evil, I advise and offer to take one-half of this com- 
mand, — from 250 to 300 men, — and march at once to form a junction with 
Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

S. W. Kearney, Brig.- General. 
Commodore R. F. Stockton, 

Governor of California, commanding U. S. Forces. 

A true copy. E. D. Townsend, 

Assistant Adjutant- General. 



APPENDIX D. 47 



8. Letter of Purser Speiden, referred to in his letter of the 16th March, 1847, 
above set forth. 

{From the California Extra, of January 28, 1847.) 

The following letter is from an officer attached to the command of Commodore 
Stockton, and describes with graphic force the engagements which took place on 
the march to the Puebla : — 

" CiuDAD DE LOS Angeles, January 14, 1847. 

" I seize the moment to write you a few hasty lines, which may possibly reach 
you through the agency of a friend. In my last you were informed of the out- 
break of the insurgents of California, and the trouble we should have for our 
Commodore to quell them. The plan of Commodore Stockton, of which I informed 
you a few weeks ago, has been fully carried out. At the head of the forces at his 
command, amounting to about six hundred, including the detachment of the first 
regiment of United States dragoons, under General Kearney, he left San Diego on 
the morning of the 29th December, determined again to enter the capital, take pos- 
session, and put down the insurrection. Our line of march was through a rough 
and mountainous country of nearly one hundred and fifty miles, with impedi- 
ments on every side, to say nothing of the constant apprehensions of attack, 
both day and night, by our enemy on the way. Our march was, notwithstand- 
ing, rapid, and. although performed mostly by sailor troops, would have done 
credit to the bestrtrained army in the world. 

" On the morning of the 8th of January we found ourselves, after several days' 
hard marching and fatigue, in the vicinity of the river San Gabriel, on the north 
bank of which the enemy had fortified themselves, to the number of five hundred 
well-mounted men, with four pieces of artillery, and in a position so command- 
ing that it seemed impossible to gain any point by which our troops could be 
protected from the most galling fire of their artillery. They had formed, as I 
before said, on the north bank, within three hundred yards of the river, and 
presented a front, consisting of their whole force, in three divisions, one on our 
right, the other on our left, and the third in front of the artillery. Our whole 
line advanced, while a skirmish was kept up by a party of the enemy and a de- 
tachment of our riflemen. On reaching the south side of the river, the Commodore 
dismounted, forded the stream, commanded the troops to ^mss over, which they did 
promptly, under the brisk fire of the enemy's artillery on the opposite bank. The 
Commodore ordered thai the artillery should not unlimber until the opposite side 
of the river luas gained. As soon as that was effected, he ordered a charge, to take 
t/ie tiill directly in the teeth of the enemy's guns, ivhich soon resulted in the entire 
possession of the prominent point they liad just occupied. An attempt was made 
by the Californians to cut off our pack-horses and cattle in the rear, all of which, 
however, with the exception of a few horses, wei-e protected by our rear in the 
most creditable manner. I am not sufficiently skilled in military tactics to give 
a definite account of the battle; but the skill in management and determined 
courage and bravery of our Commodore gave to all the fullest confidence of a vic- 
torious result of this brilliant affair. The first gun fired was aimed by the Com- 
modore before the charge was made up the hill, (his superior skill in gunnery 
and fondness for exercising ' big guns' never appeared to greater advantage 
than on this occasion,) overthrowing the enemy's gun, which had just poured 
forth its thunder in our midst. Finding the hill in our possession, and our artil- 
lery having gained the desired point, a cannonading was now kept up for some 
time, t/ie Commodore continuing to aim the guns, ordering his men to lie down 
until the moment he was ready to fire, by which means many valuable and brave 
fellows' lives were saved, as tlie Californians continued for some time to fire their 
artillery with much effect. For brevity, I must leave out many particulars. 
Having driven our enemy before us, we now made our camp for the night on 
the very hill they had tried so hard to defend, and where they intended (as they 
said) ' to eat us up.' The number of their killed and wounded it was not pos- 
sible for us to ascertain, as they carried away immediately on their horses all 
who fell. 

It 



48 ^>PENr>ix D. 

"9^7t Jamiary. — The enemy met us again to-day on the plains of the Mesa, near 
the city, and with bold and determined effort tried our lines on every side in a 
brisk cannonading, with several attempts to charge in upon us. The liattle 
was koiit up spiritedly for two hours and a half, when General Flores said to his 
men, ' I have liut another discharge of artillery to make, and my last request 
is that yuu will make a bold and determined charge as our last resort.' This 
they attempted ; but the firm and steady course in which our troops continued 
to defend themselves repelled the attempt at a charge, and we found ourselves 
again victorious in the second day's tight. The first day's fight lasted one hour 
and a half. At night we encamped near the battle-ground, and on the morning 
of the 10th marched into the city, and took possession while the adjacent hills 
were glistening with the lances of our enemies, whom we forced to disperse. 
"When it is recollected that all our work to defend ourselves, our baggage- 
wagons, cattle, horses, and pack-mules, had to be done on foot, while our ene- 
mies were mounted on first-rate horses, is it not remarkable that we should have 
been so successful? But it was done on the glorious iith of Januar}-, togctlier 
with the following day. Of the result of both days we are proud to boast ; but 
the 8th was indeed a brilliant aflair: our war-cry was 'New Orleans!' I can 
say nothing here of the officers and men individually ; but no doubt full justice 
■will be done to all by the official report of the Commodore. 

"I give the above facts, being myself an eye-witness to the events of the two 
days, and glad that I live to write you. 

" i'he success attending the Californians in their fight with Captain Mervine at 
San Pedro, and afterwards with General Kearney at San Pasqual, made them 
very bold and arrogant; and every man of us was determined to retrieve, if pos- 
sible, the credit of the American arms in this country. Yours, <Stc." 



From tne Correspondence of the Richmond Inquirer. 

We have never known more regret to be expressed upon the retirement of 
any Senator than that which has followed the announcement of the resignation 
of Stockton. All parties, sects, and ftictions are united in opinion on this mat- 
ter. All lament the loss of his ability, whole-souled patriotism, and experience 
to the country ; and all deplore the event because of tliose excellent qualities of 
head and heart which have shone so conspicuously in the social world. Many 
now regard it as a foregone conclusion that the gallant Sailor-Senator is to be 
Secretary of the Navy. There are no two opinions about his being pre-emi- 
nently the man for the place. 



From the Alexandria (Va.) Age. 

ON DITS. 

The resignation of Commodore Stockton, the notice of which was published 
in our last issue, has given rise to much speculation — some asserting that it 
was occasioned by the pressure of his own private business, which is said to be 
sufficiently overwhelming to occupy his whole time, and others that it was pre- 
dicated upon the assumption of still higher honours in the councils of the na- 
tion. The latter class of speculators assign to him tiio position of Secretary of 
the Navy, in the Cabinet of General Pierxe; and the Baltimore American and 
Washington Republic, acting upon the hypothesis that they speak by authority, 
give utterance to the opinion which they entertain of the distinguished Senator, 
in terms as creditable to themselves as to the object of their commendation. 
Bead :— 

The Washington Republic, referring to the resignation of United States Sena- 
tor Stockton, says: — 



APPENDIX D. 49 

"While we regret to lose the Senatorial services of this distinguished gentle- 
man, we hope that the ct>untry will enjoy the benefit of his abilities and varied 
experience in some other position." 

We join in the expression of the same wish. If the present able head of the 
Navy Department could be continued in the station which he has filled with 
such hearty acceptance to the country at large, it would indeed be a happy cir- 
cumstance ; but, as this is a thing not possible, we are rejoiced that his place is 
probably filled by so worthy a successor. 

AVe are not advised whether there is any foundation for this speculation, but, 
if there is really any authority for it, wo are persuaded that the choice of the 
President could not possibly fall upon a gentleman more competent to discharge 
the arduous duties of that responsible post, or whose elevation to it would be 
more generally acceptable to the country. Senator Stockton has won for him- 
self a leading position in the most dignified assembly of statesmen in the world; 
and the reputation which he has thus acquired as a civilian, coupled with the 
renown he enjoys as one of the bravest and most chivalric of our naval heroes, 
eminently fit and prominently point to him as the man for the post to which 
public sentiment has already assigned him. 



From the National Devwcrat, (N. Y.) 

Senator Stockton. 

Doubtless there are wiseacres who fancy the resignation of his Senatorship 
by R. F. Stockton indicative of a seat awaiting him in the cabinet of General 
Pierce. Stranger and far worse things might happen; but, as this step has 
long been contemplated, owing to the pressing demands of his private business 
and interests, we can see abundant reason for his resignation other than a 
cabinet seat. Commodore Stockton was a candidate for the Senate more in 
obedience to the solicitation of his friends, and they include pretty much all 
New Jersey — the New Jersey Democracy especially, — more than from his own 
desire or predilections. We can only regret that, liaving done so bravely in the 
Senate, he is, perforce of private or other interests, induced to resign a post 
which he has so dignified and honoured. Just at this time, especially, we regret 
it; fur his voice, it strikes us, is the potent one to carry through a thorough re- 
form in that great arm of the national service with which the best energies of 
his past life have been connected — the navy. At any rate, he has boldly set 
forth the inefficiency of our present naval system, and, in or out of Congress, 
we believe he will labour for a reorganization until it is accomplished, lie is 
not one to take hold of the plough and look back. Stockton will be missed from 
the Senate, both as a legislator and as a man. 



From the Newark Eagle. 
Commodore Stockton — Secretary of the Navy. 

The whole nation seems unanimously to point to Commodore Stockton as the 
future Secretary of the Navy under Franklin Pierce. Tlie whole world ac- 
knowledges his naval pre-eminence, and accords to him the merited renown of 
marine skill and heroism. 

It is grutif_)ing to Jerseymen to see such testimony as the following, from the 
remotest bounds (.f tiie IJniun, in commendation of one of whom tliey are in- 
stinctively proud. The New Odeaua Delta of November 16, in speaking of 
those who will probabiy compose the new Cabinet under Franklin Pierce, says: — • 

'•Should it be deemed expedient to fill the post of Secretary of the Navy with 
one who would infuse new energy and spirit into a department of the (jovern- 



50 ^PEXDTX D. 

merit which has Buffored so much from old fnjrj-ism, — who would bring to the 
discharge of" its duties an esprit dt corps which would insure reform, energy, 
and some degree of progress in the present old grannvisms of our naval bu- 
reaus, — we know no prominent Democrat of better qualifications than R. F. 
'St<ickton, of New Jerse}-." 

We know of no other man whose appointment would receive such universal 
approbation ; and all parties in New Jersey would feel a proud gratification at 
his selection. 



From the Hunterdon Gazette, (Whig,) N. J. 

Commodore Stockton and the Navt Department. 

It is pretty generally understood that Commodore Stockton is being warmly 
pressed by his friends as a candidate for Secretary of the Navy. Of all the 
geutlen>en we have heard mentioned in connection with that station, we look 
upon the Commodore as the one best qualified to fill the post. We say this 
from no feeling of partiality for Mr. Stockton, personally or politically, but be- 
cause we believe he is abundantly capable, from his knowledge of naval afiairs, 
to fill, with credit to himself and honour to his native State, the position al- 
luded to. 



From the Trenton True American. 

Commodore Stockton stands without a rival in naval exploits, and the nation 
unanimously accords to him pre-eminent qualifications to discharge the duties 
of that position which, the signs of the times indicate, will at no distant day 
demand his naval skill, dauntless courage, and uufiiuching patriotism. 



From the Philadelphia Satvrday Evening Courier. 
Doings in Washington and Baltimore. 

Dear Courier:— Washington, D. C, June 11, 1852. 

Congress has been in session near seven months, at an expense to the country 
of one million at least, and without accomplishing any important public busi- 
ness as yet. It will probably adjourn on the ICth of August, that having been 
designated as the day. On Monday, the election for Mayor of Washington re- 
sulted in favour of John M. Maury, Democrat, by eight hundred and ninety- 
three majority. 

Having been present during the sitting in Baltimore of the recent Democratic 
Convention for nominating a Presidential candidate, I partook of tlie intense 
excitement which the occasion inspired, and will furnish such facts, in relation 
to the closing scenes, as will be likely to interest those of your numerous readers 
who have sought in vain for any mention of the name of the "Conqueror of 
California" in tho Convention. 

The public mind, outside the Convention, had settled down to the conviction 
that Commodore Stockton was to be the successful favourite, and so he unques- 
tionably would, had his name been simply announced in compliance with the 
universal antiLi|)ation. There are different explanations given as to the neglect 
to fulfil the general expectation in reference to the Senator from New Jersey. 
The Public Ledger of your city, under the head of " A narrow escape from being 
a Candidate," credits the Trenton State Gazette with the assertion that Commo- 



II 



APPENDIX D. 51 

dore Stockton had a narrow escape from being the Demooratic candidate for the 
Presidency in this way: — "On Friday, a number of the States, among which 
was Virginia, became tired of voting for the old candidates, and satisfied that it 
was necessary to go for some new man, they determined to vote upon any one 
whom the Virginia delegation might agree upon. That delegation discussed 
the question on Friday night and till an early hour on Saturday morning. 
They were nearly equally divided between Stockton and Pierce; but, on taking 
the vote among themselves. Pierce obtained a majority of one, and the delega- 
tion therefore led ofi" for him. It adds, that a majurity of the New Jersey dele- 
gates were opposed to him, and two of them steadily refused till the last to vote 
for him. We know not how much of this statement agrees with the facts, but 
move unlikely things have happened in the Convention." 

This is incorrect, inasmuch as there was at no time "a majority of the New 
Jersey delegates" opposed to their Senator, though the objection of one or two 
ultras did, it is true, prevent that entire unanimity in the State delegation 
without which the friends of the Commodore unwisely determined to withhold 
his name. This course was understood to be in compliance with the known 
wishes of Mr. Stockton himself, who had determined that no movement should 
be made in his behalf without the entire acquiescence of the delegation. 

Thus it may justly be said that the presentation of the name of Commodore 
Stockton, and his nomination as a candidate for President of the United States 
by the Convention, was solely prevented by his own independent decision. Had 
his name been but mentioned before the "Convention, it would have been hailed 
with acclamation, for those who were present agree that the strongest feeling 
prevailed in his favour, both within the Convention and without. At a large 
meeting held in Monument Square during the previous evening, the mention of 
the name of Stockton drew forth such rounds of applause as clearly indicated 
the public sentiment in the city which he once so gallantly aided in defending. 
The want of the entire unanimity on the part of the New Jersey delegation 
originated from the fact that the Commodore had, on the recent visit of Mr. 
Webster to Trenton, highly eulogized that eminent statesman, and also ex- 
pressed his estimation of the principles of one of the signers of our ever-glorious 
Declaration of Independence. 

These offences were still further heightened by the daring assumption that 
the labour of his own native State deserved better encouragement than it re- 
ceived. Such were the very grievous offences which alone prevented the unani- 
mity that would have made a gallant, high-minded citizen of the State of New 
Jersey the next President of the United States. 

Yours, truly. 



From a New Jersey Paper, June, 1852. 

Commodore Stockton. 

The position of Commodore Stockton before the country is one of which he 
and the State may well be proud. For some time prior to the National Con- 
vention, by the spontaneous action of his friends in various parts of the Union 
his name was connected, in view of certain contingencies, with the Presidency; 
but, with consistent dignity, he stood aloof, and refused, even by the lifting of a 
finger, to promote what some might have considered a move calculated to make 
more intricate the already confused game on the Presidential board. _ On the 
eventful Friday, when every thing seemed to be chaos, some of his friends in 
New Jersey, New York, and the South, desired to bring forward his name as 
the rallying-point for the Convention. He was applied to, and promptly an- 
g^vered— "/if is not for me, gentlemen, to stir in this matter!" Still, notwith- 
standing this, we learn from good authority, that when Virginia cast the die, 
the present illustrious nominee of the party only led our own favourite son one 
vote. 



52 APPENDIX D. 

From the Richmond Whig, MarcJi, 1852. 

CoiiMuDOKE Stockton. 

A corrospnndcnt of the Washington Union communicates to that paper along 
biographical sketch of Commoiiore Stockton. The gailaiit sailor has had a life 
of splendid heroism and adventure, and, we have no doubt, if nominated, would 
make a tall run for the Presidency. Who knows bat the Democrats may ci^n- 
pose their personal feuda by eventually uniting upon Stockton? Goograplii- 
cally, he stands midway between North and Soutii, and perhaps politically he 
stands midway between Old Fogyism and Young America. His advocates could 
no doubt convince men of all sections and parties tliat he is decidedK' a Northern 
Southern man, and emphatically a Conserratire Progressii'e. They might also 
deny that the soldiers should always be put on the field for the Presidency in 
total exclusion of the sailors. The Navy is the favourite arm of the nation, and 
ought to come in, now and then, for a share of the Presidential prize-money. 
Mr. Stockton asked, in a late speech, "Did you ever see Jack on horseback?" 
We would not be greatly astonished if the next Democratic Convention, in case 
they are satisfied that General Scott will be the Whig nominee, should set Jack 
astride of the resolutions of '98, and then — nous verrons. 



From the Newark Mercury. 
Commodore Stockton and Nevt Jersey. 

We notice that some journals are engaged in slurring the position which 
Commodore Stockton occupied in the Democratic Baltimore Convention, and we 
think this in exceeding bad taste. Commodore Stockton would have been the 
nominee of the Democratic party but for his strict adherence to the interests 
of his native State. It was openly stated by the Virginia delegates that they 
would have preferred Stockton to Pierce but for the tariff sentiments of the 
former, and the nomination of Virginia would have made him the candidate of 
his party. We rejoice to say that political elevation cannot, now or prospect- 
ively, change the firm and decided attachment of our Democratic Senator to a 
principle which he believes to be identified with the interests of the country, 
and in which he is supported by the Democrac}' of his State. We feel that his 
devotion to the interests of New Jersey is not a fit subject for censure even in a 
Whig press. 

While we are far from coinciding with Commodore Stockton in all his views, 
and while wo think him essentially wrong on the Slavery question, we do admire 
his real ability, his generous impulses, his straightforward manliness of purpose, 
and his wearing his party principles loosely about him Avhen they come in con- 
tact with the interests of the country. For his course in the Senate of the 
United States he is entitled to the thanks of Jerseymen. lie has ably repre- 
sented the humane sentiments of our people in his opposition to the restoration 
of the sailor's lash; he has nobly vindicated New Jersey interests in demanding 
ampler protection for her iron and her manufactures; he has never swerved 
from upliolding in his j^osition the character and claims of his native State; 
and, if this course has been instrumental in defeating his political prospects, 
far be it from us to join in his condemnation. The truth is, we cannot conceive 
how Commodore vStockton could have been controlled sufficiently to have got 
one foot on such a platform as that made at Baltimore. 



The Washington correspondent of the New Orleans Delta thinks that Com- 
modore Stockton stands a chance for the nomination for the Presidency by the 
Baltimore Convention. He writes: — 



APPENDIX D. 53 

"I find that many persons in and out of Congress think that Commodore 
Stockton has a very good chance for the nomination at Baltimore. He will not 
be brought forward until the prominent candidates shall have been tried and 
shall have failed. No one of them, it is believed, could, under present circum- 
stances, obtain a vote of two-thirds ; and it is not likely that in sixty days the 
state of things will be much changed. The rivalry of the prominent men, of 
which we have such strong evidence here, will probably prevent their friends 
from combining in favour of any one of them. They must, therefore, compro- 
mise upon some new candidate. The New York delegation will settle the mat- 
ter by leading off for Stockton. The two-thirds will soon follow." 

The correspondent of the New York Journal of Commerce expresses a similar 
opinion. 



From the New York Times. 
For President, R. F. Stockton. 

Very much stranger things have happened than the nomination of such a 
ticket. The chances for Mr. Polk were far less respectable in 1844. The name 
of that gentleman had been unheard of, until announced by the Baltimore Con- 
vention. His life was unwritten and but half lived. His claims to Presidential 
honours were so many drafts upon an uncertain future. 

Present circumstances seem to flush the prospects of the Captain with the 
hues of success. He stands high with his party. His temporary following of 
strange gods in the days of Harrison and Tyler has only served to set off his 
subsequent fidelity. He has the means at his disposal to pay the most extrava- 
gant of costs in the prosecution of the campaign. He is free from the priggish- 
ness of old fogyism, and equally free from the crazy vagaries of Young America. 
Upon the Slavery question he is sound to the core — entirely sound. His family 
connections, his Carolinian inheritance, his Virginian gold-mines, are deposited 
collaterals for his reliability upon all questions in which the peculiar institution 
is involved. His positions upon foreign policy are remarkably safe and con- 
servative. Indeed, as a public man, it would be dlfiicult to pick out another so 
entirely spotless in all that relates to partisan qualifications. His style of talk 
out-doors and on the stump is irresistible. There is something so free, candid, 
and nautical, in his manners, such a winning disregard of partisan ties, a con- 
tempt so lofty for conventionalities and formalities of every kind, so many 
piquant inconsistencies, so much of confiding na'iveU, that he springs close to 
and at once clenches the popular heart. That his spirit spurns and soars im- 
measurably above the littleness of party, is demonstrated at every fitting oppor- 
tunity. How frank and manly his panegyric of the man who may, in a few 
short mouths, be his rival in the race of fame? 



64 APPENDIX E. 



APPENDIX E. 



Address of Commodore H. F. Stockton to tlie People of New Jersey, 
in relation to the existing contracts between the State and the united 
Delaware and Baritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad 
Companies, September 24, 1849. 

Fellow-Citizens: — Upon the faith of a contract made with the State of Now 
Jersey in the years 1830, '31, '32, I invested a very hirge amount of my pro- 
perty in the enterprise of constructing a Canal and Railroad across the State 
of New Jersey. 

I have been from the first, and I am at this day, I believe, the largest stock- 
holder of the united Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy 
Railroad and Transportation Companies. 

On my return from California, I found that suits had been commenced against 
the Railroad Company by persons alleging that they had been overcharged 
some small amount in the transportation of articles of merchandise between 
New York and Trenton, in the companies' lines. These suits were founded on 
an act of the Legislatui-e, passed in LS39, and they question a construction of 
the company's charter, which for fifteen years had been unquestioned, and was 
supposed to be free from doubt. 

The question involved is clearly one of law. The first case is now ponding 
before the highest judicial court in the State. I have been early taught that 
causes pending in a court of justice were only to be discussed at the bar of the 
court. But I have read long and laboured legal arguments in tlm public news- 
papers, attempting to sustain the claims of these persons against tlie company, 
and in one newspaper, at least, published in New Jersey, it has been stated that 
the editor has '"authority" for saying that the case will be decided against the 
company. 

I am not surprised; for I presume this mode of dealing with causes in court 
afi'ecting private property is part of the new-born code of rights of whicli I 
propose to speak. Cotemporary with these lawsuits, a series of abusive articles 
has been commenced and continued in the public newspapers, in and out of the 
State, full of false charges against the companies and slanderous accusations 
of their officers. In reference to these it is sufficient to say at present that, at 
the request of the conqianies, commissioners have been a])pointed by the Legisla- 
ture, wlio have the subject of these ch.arges under examination. But certain 
political agitators, who have been labouring to poison tlie jniblic mind against 
the companies, have at length come before the people with an address and 
resokitious, emanating from what they call a State Convention, in which the 
ground is broadly and deliberately taken that a part of the existing contract 
between the State and the companies is null and void ; and the public are called 
upon to make this the great question iu the election of members of the ensuing 
legislature. 

This is the first time in the history of New Jersey, I believe, that her citizens 
have been called upon to settle the rights of private property and the validity 
of contracts at the polls, amid the conflict of party politics and through the 



APPENDIX E. 55 

machinery of party organization ; and as I am one of the chief victims marked 
for the sacrifice, and it is proposed to begin this career of improvement in legal 
science by divesting me of my property without judge or jury, and through my 
purse sweat the public treasury, it is proper perhaps that I should ask a hear- 
ing, and say that I do not mean to be an unresisting victim. 

But, first of all, I feel that I ought to say to you, my fellow-citizens, that this 
address is not prompted by any doubt of your intelligence or integrity. 

I was born among you, as were niy ancestors. Through many years of public 
service, in scenes of difficulty, privation, and danger, the thought of my native 
State, her honour, her interest, and her glory, have been the lights that led me 
in the path of duty; and I cannot, and will not, doubt her fidelity to law and 
principle and justice. But facts misrepresented, falsehood and slander often 
repeated and not contradicted, in time come to be received by the public as 
truth ; and history, and principle, and common justice, are hence liable to mon- 
strous perversions. 

I was not in the State of New Jersey in 1830, when the acts incorporating 
the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad Companies 
were passed, and had nothing to do with framing their charters. I was always 
opposed to the present system. I said that the State had a valuable farm and 
ought to work it herself, and it was not until the people had deliberately, after 
years of agitation on the subject, determined in the first place to lease the right 
of way, and, in the second place, to give all necessary protection to secure the 
construction of her various improvements, that I came forward to give my aid 
to these well-settled principles and the people's wishes. This principle of pro- 
tection, falsely called monopoly, was settled and adopted many years before the 
canal and railroad charters were passed. The Delaware Bridge, the bridges 
over the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, the Morris Canal, and the charter for 
the Delaware and Raritan Canal, passed in 1824, are monuments to show that 
this policy of protection was no new thing, introduced for the first time in our 
charters. I repeat that the present policy is, as it always has been, protection, 
not monopolij. I am no more a monopolist than the man who rents my farm; 
"we both rent under written agreements, and are both protected iu our rights by 
the same laws. But it is an odious cabalistic word, well suited at all times for 
the use of the political demagogue, especially for the bar-room and tippling- 
houses. It can be pronounced by the ignorant or the wise, by the drunkard or 
the sober man, and means about as much in the mouth of the one as of the 
other. 

Returning to the State some time after the charters were passed, I learned 
that the stuck of the railroad company had been subscribed; that of fifteen 
thousand sliares of the canal stock only eleven hundred and thirty-four shares 
bad been taken. The books had been closed — the hope of digging the canal 
abandoned. Tliere was no difficulty about the railroad; that was considered a 
safe enterprise, with the protection already stipulated for in the charter. 

My private fortune was at this time safely invested, yielding me an ample in- 
come ; I was absorbed in my profession, and desired no other business. 

I was importuned for aid. I was assured that if the canal failed now it was 
lost forever ; and, deeming the canal of infinite importance to the State and the 
nation, I subscribed the balance of the stock necessary to preserve the charter, 
amounting to over four hundred thousand dollars. From that time to the meet- 
ing of the next Legislature, 1831, every efi'ort was made to enlist capitalists in 
New Jersey, New i'ork, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, in the enterprise, but in 
vain. Aid was solicited from the General Government and I'efused. 

These facts were laid before the Legislature, and they were asked to invest the 
company with the power to construct a railroad in coimection with and on the 
bank of the canal, as the means of inducing the subscription of the balance of 
the stock. This the Legislature refused. There was a protection contained in 
the charter of the railroad company. But they passed an act, in 1831, which, 
while it required the proposed dimensions of the canal to be increased from 
fifty to seventy-five feet in width, at an additional expense of more than a mil- 
lion of dollars, held out the prospect of a railroad grant, if the comoauy would 



56 APPENDIX E. 

first complete the canal. This act alarmed the stockholders of the railroad 
cumpauy. Tlie two companies came in contlict. The case stood thus: — 

The canal company could not go on without railroad privileges. The rail- 
road company would not proceed with their work if another railroad was to be 
authorized to compete with them. Both enterprises were in jeo])ardy, when 
the compromise was finally effected by tiie act of 1832, consolidating the stock 
of the two companies, and thus secMiring tiie success of both. Tlie stock of both 
companies was now subscrilicd. But it was soon perceived that the increase in 
the size of the canal, stipulated by tlie late act, and other unforeseen contingen- 
cies, would render a loan of more than two millions beyond the whole capital 
stock subscribed, necessary to complete the two works. The faith of capitalists 
was shaken by this announcement. It was found that something more definite 
in the way of protection was necessary to restore it. The companies came to 
the Legislature again, and to meet the exigency — to hold out a sufficient induce- 
ment to vioneycd men to loan the funds necessary to complete the works, and in 
consideration of the transfer of one thousand shares of the joint stock to the 
State, and the guarantee of at least thirty thousand dollars a year transit-du- 
ties and the dividends on their shares — the act of jNIarch, liS32, was passed, com- 
pleting the contract as it now stands between the State and the companies. 

What is the Contract ? 

Now Jersey has leased the right of way across the State to these companies 
for the purpose of a canal, for fifty years — for the purpose of a railroad, for thirty 
years. The canal and railroad to be built at the expense and risk of the lessees, 
and, at the end of the leases, the State to have a right to take the works at an 
appraised valuation, not to exceed the cost. The lessees pay the State, for this 
lease, the dividends on two thousand shares of their stock, and transit-duties on 
every passenger and ton of merchandise carried across the State, amounting al- 
ready to eighty thousand dollars a year; and the whole amount which has been 
received by the State from the companies, up to the present time, exceeds eight 
hundred thousand dollars, besides two thousand shares of stock, the first cost 
of which was two hundred thousand dollars. Let me again remind you that 
the fee is in the State ; we are merely the lessees, and no more monopolists than 
any farmer who leases a piece of land, or any mechanic who leases a dwelling- 
house or shop: and, on the other hand, the State agrees that no other railroad 
shall be authorized during the continuance of the charter, to compete with these 
lessees in the business of carrying between New York and Philadelphia. 

It is a contract, therefore, in which there is a perfect mutuality. Both parties 
are bound, and both benejited. 

How was it made ? 

By the people, through their representatives in the Legislature ; by solemn 
laws deliberately passed through all the constitutional forms, after many years' 
excitement and discussion throughout the State, and accepted by the companies. 

When madef 

Before the works were commenced, and during their progress, on the faith of 
the Slate, 1 invested nearly my whole fortune, as have others, in these works. 
On the faith of the State the company borrowed three millions of dollars, to en- 
able them to fulfil their part of the contract; and I have spent nearly twenty 
years of mv life in doing all I could for the interest of the State as well as my 
own. The'State has had not only the use of my fortune, but of eighteen years' 
hard work, without paying me one dollar for either. And will you, fellow-citi- 
zens, after all this, permit socialists, speculators, or demagogues of whatever 
degree, to bring this matter into party politics, and to affix a foul blot on your 
fair fame, by pTuuderiug my family, my friends, and myself, in the name of the 
State ? 



APPENDIX E. 57 

It is an executed contract. 

The companies have performed their part of it; have completed the vporks as 
required, and paid the consideration-money annually to the State for seventeen 
years, according to the terms of the contract. The State has never questioned 
its validity. For seventeen years under this contract, the State has received 
every year the money-consideration which the contract called for; thus re- 
affirming it every year. Your State-prison, your lunatic-asylum, your very 
Capitol, stand as witnesses of the validity, as the benefit of the contract, for they 
were built by the consideration-money paid and received under it Besides all 
this, the Legislature have, at various periods within these seventeen years, re- 
affirmed its validity by Acts and Resolutions : 

1. In 1835, the Legislature passed this resolution with only two dissenting 
voices in the Council. 

"Resolved, by the Council and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, 
that the passage of any act by this Legislature, authorizing or recognising any 
other railroad or roads, which shall be intended or used for the transportation 
of passengers or merchandise between the cities of New York and Philadelphia, 
would he unjust, impolitic, in violation of the plighted faith of the State, and 
deeply injurious to its interests." 

2. In the pi-eamble and resolutions passed in 1835-36, raising a committee to 
ascertain upon what terms the companies would surrender their works to the 
State, reciting that " whereas, by the laws heretofore passed by the Legislature 
of this State, certain exclusive privileges were conferred upon the Delaware and 
Raritan Canal and the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Com- 
panies, and whereas, it is represented that a large portion of the people of New 
Jersey' are desirous that those privileges should be extinguished in some just, 
honourable, and legal manner, and whereas, it is manifest that this desirable 
object can alone he ohtained hy and with the consent of the said companies, there- 
fore resolved." 

3. By an act passed 1837, proposing " with the consent of the companies to 
alter tlie contract, allowing them to charge the sum of four dollars for each 
passenger carried on any of the railroads of said companies to and from the 
cities (if New York and Philadelphia by day, and^^i-e dollars by night, provided, 
that they shall pay into the Treasury of this State one-half of any sum over 
three dollars they may charge each passenger so carried. That the revenue 
which may from time to time be received from the said companies, after paying 
the State-tax out of the same, shall be invested by the treasurer of this State, 
under direction of the Governor, Vice-President of Council, and Speaker of 
House of Assembly for the time being, as a specific fund for the redemption of 
the railroad and railroad-appendages of the said companies, as soon as the same 
shall become redeemable." This act the companies have not as yet thought 
proper to accept. 

4. By an act of the same date, allowing the companies to construct a railroad 
from Bordentown to New Brunswick, with a branch to the Delaware Bridge at 
Trenton, reciting that, "for the purpose of enabling them to construct said 
roads, the said united Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy 
Railroad Companies be, and they hereby are, invested with all the power and 
authority which they now possess, and entitled to all the privileyes and emolu- 
ments to which they are now entitled, under an act entitled an Act to incorpo- 
rate the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, and an act entitled an Act to 
incorporate the Camdt« and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, 
and the several acts supplementarij to said acts, or either of these, as far as the 
provisions thereof are now in force and not repealed, altered or amended by 
subsequent acts." 

Notwithstanding the united companies were to make the road thus author- 
ized, they deemed it necessary to insert in this act two important provisions: — 
1st. " That nothing in this act contained shall be construed, held, deemed, or 
taken in any way to affect, impair, or defeat the right of the State of New Jer- 
sey of, in, or to, the shares they now hold of the capital stock of said companies, 



58 APPENDIX E. 

or tlio interest accruing therefrom — or the transit duties or the right of redeem- 
ing said works. And l2d, that the act should not become a law until formally 
accepted by said companies, and the assent duly filed." 

Tiicsc references snow that successive Legislatures coming fresh from the 
people have over and over again affirmed and re-affirmed the binding validity 
of tiie contract between the State and the companies, by repeated solemn acts 
and resolutions at various times, and under various circumstances, since l!SoO. 

So that if a contract solemnly made by public laws — passed, affirmed and re- 
affirmed by successive Legislatures, approved by the people, accepted by the 
party contracted with, uniformly recognised — the consideration paid and I'e- 
ceivcd annually for seventeen years — executed by the parties, up to the present 
time — is a binding valid contract, upon which the citizen can rely for the secu- 
rity of property invested under it, tins is such a contract. 

The two following propositions will not be denied by any one. 

1. That this is in form a legal contract: a valuable franchise is granted by 
one party, a valuable consideration paid for it by the other. 

2. That this contract was made and entered into by both parties upon full 
advisement. There was no misunderstanding about it; there is no ambiguity in 
it. Both parties intended to become solemn! i/ and leijalli/ hound by it, the one to 
the other. The Legislature agreed, if we would invest our fortunes in the con- 
struction of a canal and railroad across New Jersey, pay them the annual divi- 
dends on $1100,000 of stock, transit-duties on every passenger and ton of mer- 
chandise we carried on these works across the State, and allowed them to redeem 
the works at cost, in thirty and fifty years, that they would not during these 
periods allow other roads and canals to be chartered to compete with us. We 
agreed, on our part, to accept these terms. We invested our fortunes in making 
the canal and railroads; we have paid semi-annually the consideration stipu- 
hited for seventeen years; we recognise the State's right to redeem according to 
the agreement. 

Now if any citizen of New Jersey will stand up and say to me, I rejnidiaie 
this contract; the ].C(/i.'tlature had no riyht to viuke it; I will not abide b>/ it ; I beg 
leave to ask him, Were not the Legislatures of 1830, of '32, of '35, and '37, your 
Representatives? Did you not elect them? Did you not know that they in 
your name made, affirmed, and re-affirmed these contracts with me and my asso- 
ciate stockholders? Did you not stand by and see me invest my fortune in 
these works upon the faith of these agreements? Did you give me notice that 
you would not abide by them ? Have you not, through your agents, received 
from us every year for seventeen years the consideration we agreed to pay in 
conformity with the stipulations of this contract? and have you not, through 
your agents, expended this money in the erection of your public buildings and 
in the support of your State government? And when he has answered these 
questions, 1 ask him by what code of morals he reconciles his conduct with his 
conscience. 

Bui is the contract legal? 

I am no lawyer, but we have not failed to inquire of those who are. I refer 
to the brief extracts which follow, taken from opinions long in my possession. 
Horace Binney and the late Charles Chauncey say, that the clause granting 
]n-otoction in the act of 1832 is substantially a pnunise by the Legislature that 
no law shall be passed to authorize the construction of a railroad contrary to 
the import of the engagement, is free from dcnibt. This species of engagement 
is not without precedent in the legislation both of the United States and the 
States. 

That it is within the competency of the States, generally seems to have been 
the opinion from the time of the Revolution. Ihinking, as we do, that the 
Legislature of New Jersey may lawfully grant an exclusive franchise of making 
a railroad for the transportation of passengers and merchandise between certain 
points, — that they have done so for a valualile consideration by the supplemental 
charter in question, and that the law by which they have done it is in the na- 
ture of a contract with the canal and railroad companies, — we are of opinion 



APPENDIX E. 59 

that a repeal of that law, and the incorporation of another rompany to compete 
in business with these companies, ivovld he a violation of the faith of the State, 
and of the Constitution <f tht United States, and would therefore be without 
legal effect. 

George Wood, Ogden Hoffman, and the late David B. Ogden of New York, 
say, we are satisfied that the Legishiture of New Jersey were clothed with suffi- 
cient power to pass such an act, (1832,) and that the Legislature, having thereby 
entered into a compact with the companies not to permit the construction of 
another railroad within the prescribed period and the prescribed local limits, it 
was competent for them to do so, and foils within the scope of their legitimate 
and constitutional power. It is true that no such power is given to them by 
the Constitution in express terms, nor was it necessary. That instrument con- 
tains a broad grant of sovereign power, in the following language : — 

"The Government of this Province shall be vested in a Governor, Legislative 
Council, and General Assembly." This general grant of sovereign power un- 
questionably embraces the power alluded to. The late Isaac II. Williamson 
and Garret D. Wall say, "after deliberate consideration of the act of the Legisla- 
ture of March 2, 1832, they are clearly of opinion that the act is constitutional 
and a valid exercise of legislative power, and that the Legislature is legally 
restrained from passing any laws impairing the privileges thereby granted. 
The prohibitory clause in the Constitution of the United States extends to con- 
tracts with a State as a party, as well as to contracts between individuals; and 
when a law is in its nature a contract, a repeal of this law cannot divest those 
rights, and a parti/ to a contract cannot pi'onounce its oxen deed invalid, although 
the party be a sovereign State." And Chief Justice Marshall says "that the 
principle that one legislature is competent to repeal any act which a former 
legislature was competent to pass, and that one legislature cannot abridge the 
powers of a succeeding legislature, is correct as far only as respects general 
legislation;" and Judge Story says: — "It has been decided upon solemn argument, 
in the Supreme Court of the United States, that contracts and grants made by 
a State are not less within the i-each of this prohibition of the Constitution 
against impairing the obligation of contracts, than contracts and grants of 
private persons." The late Samuel L. Southard says: — "I have examined with 
proper care the several laws of New Jersey relating to the Delaware and 
Karitan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad Companies, and am of opinion 
that the Legislature had the clear constitutional power to pass those laws, and 
that they are obligatory upon the people, judicial tribunals, and the Legislature 
of the State. These laws, and the proceedings had under them, create a valid 
contract, founded on good and valuable consideration, which the Legislature of 
the State liad a right to make, and which it cannot now violate witliout a dis- 
regard of legal obligations and good faith, and a forfeiture on its part (jf the 
benefits secured by the contract with the State." These opinions, and others in 
my possession, fortified by numerous legal authorities, can leave no doubt in any 
candid mind — if indeed such a mind could ever upon due reflection have enter- 
tained a doubt — as to the validity of our contract with the State. Among them 
are names high in the esteem and dear to the memory of Jerseymeu, — namea 
that adorn the annals of American jurisprudence, and whose opinions are of the 
highest authority. 

1 am not aware that those who have sought at different times to divest us of 
our property have ever been able to produce the opinion of any lawyer of esta- 
blished reputation as a jurist, favourable to their views, except the present 
Chief-Justice Taney, given when at the bar; and he admits that this is a con- 
tract, and, if the Legislature had power to make it, it is binding. He admits 
that "there would appear to be high authority for regarding this power as au 
incident to the power of legislation." la the Act of Congress incorporating the 
Bank of the United States, there is, he says, "an agreement on the part of 
the United States not to authorize any other bank out of the District of Columbia 
dui-ing the existence of that charter; and similar pledges may be found in 
similar cases in the Legislatures of different States, where the Constitution has 
not conferred on the Legislature the power to make them." 



60 ^VPPENDIX E. 

Tliis is his o-vvn languajje ; and vet, without citing a siii;;lo adjudicated case to 
support him, or pretending tliat any one of these simihir eontnicts made either 
by Congress or any of the various States liave in a single instance been ever 
doubted, lie ventures his naked opinion that as the Constitution of New Jersey 
did not expressly, in very terms, authorize the Legislature to make such a con- 
tract, it could not do it. 

With unfeigned respect for Mr. Taney, if I understand his argument, it 
answers itself. lie says, "It is now too well settled to be disputed that a charter 
granted by a State to a Company incorporated to make a road or canal, where 
the funds for the work are provided by individuals, is a contract on the part of 
the State; and i\\Q imblic cannot by subsequent legislation, without the consent 
of the corporation, alter the terms of the charter." lie says, furtl)er, " that the 
power claimed by the Legislature in this instance is that of rcslrictimj i\\Q puioer 
of uncceeding Legislatures in the exercise of certain legislative functions, and 
tiie}' have by a contract icith individual corporations engaged that the Represen- 
tatives of the people of New Jersey sliall not for a specified time exercise the 
power of incorporating a Company for the purpose of making a railroad in a 
certain part of the State." Then he adds, "The question is. Have the people 
of New Jersey delegated to the legislative body tlie power of making such a 
contract? There is no clause in the Constitution of New Jersey which gives 
this power specifically ;" therefore, he concludes that the Legislature had not 
the power. 

Now, this is the argument: — the grant by the Legislature of a charter is a con- 
tract ichich a subsequent Legislature cannot repeal. But this contract limits the 
power oj' a succeeding Legislature, and therefore is not binding. The answer is, 
The Jirst case is as much a limitation of the power of the Legislature as the 
second; he admits one is a good contract, and thinks the other bad. If both 
are contracts, if both limit the power of succeeding Legislatures, if no power to 
make either one or the other is specifically given in the Constitution, as is 
admitted, it seems clearly a non sequitur to say that the law is invalid for a 
reason that applies equally to the first, which is admitted to be valid. In fewer 
words, he admits that the Legislature \\ix\e power to make a contract. 

2d. That a contract made between the Legislature and a corporation is irre- 
pealable. 

od. That the protection clause in the act of March, 1832, is a contract between 
the Legislature and the companies, but, because the Constitution gives no specific 
power to make such a contract, they have no power to make it. 

Tlie idea that one Legislature has as much power as another seems to be as 
potent a knot-cutter, in the opinion of some men, as the sword of Alexander. 
Nobody denies the proposition. What I maintain is that no Legislature in New 
Jersey ever had the power to reptidiate a contract without compensation to the 
jiarties injured. 

I have as much power to-day as I had yesterday. The joint companies have 
as much power to-day as they had in 1832. Ti)e Legislature of 1850 will iiave 
as much power as any Legislature which preceded it. But that power will not 
enable me to-day with impunity to repudiate a contract I made yesterday, nor 
the companies, nor the Legislature, to repudiate theirs. The Constitution of the 
United Slates says to the States, as the law says to me, and as authoritatively, 
You shall not impair, much less destroy, the obligation of contracts. 

Upon the whole, I think Mr. Taney's opinion is more in our favour than 
against us. Be that as it may, I am quite ready to appeal from Mr. Taney the 
Advocate to Mr. Taney the Chief-Justice of the United States. Mr. Taney the 
Advocate, interested and excited, is not Mr. Taney the Chief-Justice, mild, 
amiable, and philosophical. 

1 liave read the address and resolutions which tlie assembly calling themselves 
an anti-monopoly convention recently adopted at Trenton. If 1 understand 
these papers, they put their whole case within a very small comjjass ; the 
address says, "We are as jealous of the honour of the State as any one; we 
would resist every attempt to violate its plighted faith ; whatever fo/i/»-ac< the 
State may have with the companies, we wish to see executed to the very letter " 



APPENDIX E. 61 

Very loeU: he it xo. But the address proceeds : — " The act of 1830 and the supple- 
ment of 1S31 contain contracts. But the supplement of 1832, lohich creates the 
monopiohj power, does not. It is a mere law enacted by one Legishiture and of 
course repealable by any Legislature." The whole case then is put upon the 
solution: — Does the act of 1832 contain a contract? What difference in princi- 
ple is there to be found between the supplements of 1831 and 1832? In both 
supplements a valuable franchise is granted by one party and a valuable con- 
sideration paid for it by the other; if one is a contract, the other must neces- 
sarily be so ; there is no difference in the principle. 

Let us see how it is. Section 1 of the act of 1832 stipulates for the com- 
panies that they shall transfer one thousand shares of their stock (one hundred 
thousand dollars) to this State, with all the instalments paid in full. Section 2 
stipulates /b/- the State that it shall not be lawful at any time during the rail- 
road charter to construct any other railroad or roads to compete with the com- 
pany in transportation between New York and Philadelphia. Section 3 stipu- 
lates for the companies that they shall guarantee thirty thousand dollars a 
year to the State from the dividends on their shares and the transit-duties re- 
quired by the act of 1830. Section 7 requires the assent of the companies to 
the stipulations of this act; and that assent is executed in due form of law and tiled. 
The stock was transferred in 1832, the thirty thousand dollars guaranteed, 
met and paid annually, and for seventeen years both parties have treated it as 
a contract. If it is not a contract, the original charter is not a contract. It is 
a part of the charter ; it is another feature added with the consent of the com- 
panies to the charter. If any part of the charter be violated, the whole is vio- 
lated: the charter and the supplements are one and inseparable. If it is not a 
contract, 1 shduld like to know what it is. And this is all I have to say about 
the legal doctrines of their address. 

A word as to the wishes of those who thus come before the public. They say 
in their address, "We wish to havey?'ee roads, /ree ferries, _/>ee ingress and egress 
and free transit in, out, and over the State. We wish to be equally free from 
the tyranny of railroad kings, ferry kings, and turnpike kings; this is what we 
aim at, and what we call upon the people of the State to unite in aciiieving.-" 
And the preamble to their resolutions, setting forth the rights and wrongs 
asserted and complained of, enumerates among those rights the making of 
roads where they please and over anybody's land they please ; among their 
wrongs, "that sundry persons, on pretence of grants alleged to have been 
obtained at remote periods, have obtained control of exclusive bodies of land, 
embracing landing-places, and ferries, and all the places at which such ferries 
could be established." A great deal has been said in like phrases, by similar 
rhetoricians, about the somewhat extensive monopolies of property of other 
descriptions, particularly of a class of lords familiarly known in this State as 
landlords. But it seems that turnpikes, ferries, and railroads, possess the ex- 
clusive power of constituting kings ; though, for myself, I never could perceive 
how the possession of a certificate of road or ferry stock made a man a king. 

But is this doctrine of free rights any thing more or less than the specious 
idea of socialism rife in our day? Is it not of the same species as the cant 
about y?-ee farms, /ree houses, yire corn-cribs, and/ree pockets? All property is 
held by contract. Every farmer has a monopoly in his farm, if the "exclusive 
right" to it is a monopoly ; and it may be well for the citizens to consider whether 
the doctrine of treating contracts as things, in derogation of popular rights, 
will stop with the crusade against railroad, ferry, and turnpike contracts. It 
will be well for them to remember that it is as easy to put a firebrand to a 
dwelling-huuse or a barn as it is to put a pickaxe to a railroad. 

These letormers in substance say. Let the Legislature pass an act declaring 
the contract, by wliich these stockholders hold a portion ut their property, in- 
valid, and we will take the risk of getting our share of railroad pn)i>erty ; and 
may tiiey not, if they succeed, say next. Let the Legislature pass a law declaring 
all title-Ueeds invalid, and we will take the risk of taking our share of the land? 
The connihiint against the large land prop>rietors, bodied forth in the preamble 
to the resolutions, foreshadows this idea already. I trust, therefore, my fellow- 



62 ^APPENDIX E. 

citizens, who are invited to join in the business of achieving the enterprise of 
making common stock of my propert.3% will pause, and consider whether they 
have not aomi' exclusive prin'ler/e.t in houses or farms or factories, in hanks or 
mills, in liridj^es or shops or fisheries that may by-and-hy be sought after, as 
equally convenient and proper articles to be turned in as common stock ia 
order that the area of freedom may be still farther enlarged, i'liey want free 
roads. But it costs money to make roads, particularly railroads and turnpikes. 
Money is property, and when invested in roads by private individuals, roads 
become property, and, unless a mode be discovered of making roads without 
money, tlie vast multiplication proposed would probably result in the multipli- 
cation to an indefinite extent of the odious article of railroad kinr/s, iurnpike 
kings, and ferry kings ; and indeed their publications intimate that they pro- 
pose to go largely into the business themselves. 

But a few words more. Constitutions are the con<rads mutually agreed upon 
by associations or masses, defining individual rights and guaranteeing their 
protection in the name of the whole. 

The men of the Revolution who framed the Constitution of this republic are 
in their graves. But their work still lives. "May it be perpetual!" The life- 
blood of our Revolutionary fathers secured it. The life-blood of their sons will 
be shed freely in its defence. "Ko Slate shall pass any law impairing the obli- 
gation of contracts," is its language; and I doubt not, whatever demagogues and 
pretended reformers of our institutions may say, there are few true Jerseymen 
■who will not respond with a hearty Amen! 

I make this appeal to you, fellow-citizens, in behalf of a principle affecting 
the security of my property and yours. I make it to you because your power 
is invoked to aid in the repudiation of a contract to which this state is a party. 
I make it to you as honest men, intelligent, law-abiding, conservative men, and 
feel confident that you will not be found willing to do an act as citizens which 
you would scorn to do as men. 

It has been and shall be my constant aim and desire, as a stockholder and 
officer of the joint companies, to do whatever I can to meet the public wants 
and conform to the wishes of my fellow-citizens. This sentiment pervades the 
companies. We have removed all reasonable causes of complaint, as fast as 
we have, on examination, been satisfied it was practicable to do so. The fares 
and freiglits have both been put down to a point, as far as I can learn, satisfac- 
tory to the great mass of the people. 

It is our intent and desire to accommodate the people to the best of our ability. 
And we shall not fail to do so. We have invested, and have induced others to 
invest, millions of dollars in Jersey property, in canals and railroads, works of 
public improvement and universal benefit, long desired and clamoured after, but 
never ventured on till we took the hazard of their construction on the faith of 
a clear and explicit agreement with the State. 

Our imiirovements have added millions to the value of property in New 
Jersey. They have made the treasury rich and erected public works of neces- 
sity and charity. They have relieved the people from the burden of a State tax. 
They have afibrded facilities for travel and transportation equal to those pos- 
sessed anywhere on the continent. A few years only remain, .and then the 
State has the right to take them. 

We encountered the risk and the labour. The State risked nothing, and reaps 
a large share of tlie profits, with a reversion of the whole. These great works 
comjileted rest in the Ijosom of New Jersey, and there they will remain forever. 
They have a place in the history of the past, and th(?y will have a place in the 
history of the future. If that future history shall point to them as memorials 
of the broken faith and violated contracts of New Jersey, it shall record on the 
same page that so foul a stain upon her escutcheon was not impressed without 
resistance from her sons. 



Fellow-citizens — I submit this last appeal to your patriotism and to your 
honour with undoubted confidence — with these two remarks : — 



APPENDIX E. 63 

1. It is clearly shown that the right of way across this State has been leased 
to the joint companies under a contract which cannot with honour or safety be 
destroyed without the consent of both the contracting parties. 

2. The joint companies are satisfied with the contract, but they are willing 
to yield any thing and every thing to the public which can be demanded by 
justice or accepted with honour. 

If therefore the people of New Jersey are of opinion that the experiment has 
been sufficiently tried, and are desirous to take immeiiiate possession of all the 
railroads of the companies, I think (though I speak for myself alone) that an 
arrangement can be made by which the State may be enabled to do so, and to 
pay for them, within fifteen years, without the hazard of a dollar, and without 
any saci-ifice of her own unsullied honour, or the property of individuals who 
have confidingly pledged their all on the integrity of their fellow-citizens. 

R. F. Stockton. 

September 24th, 1849. 



From the National Intelligencer of September 6, 1824. 

We avail ourselves of the first spare room to render justice to Lieutenant 
R. F. Stockton, who presided at a meeting at Princeton, July 14, 1824, at which 
an auxiliary colonization society was formed, selecting from the account of the 
meeting the Address which he delivered on that occasion. On motion made and 
seconded, Robert Field vStockton, Esq., of the United States Navy, was requested 
to take the chair ; and, on taking the chair, opened the meeting with the fol- 
lowing Address : — 

The promptness with which I accept this high honour which you, my fellow- 
citizens, have conferred upon me, arises not from any presumption of my own 
worthiness, but from an unwillingness to slight, in the least degree, the smallest 
mark of your esteem. The usual embarrassments which are experienced upon 
the first occasion of a young man's addressing a public assembly are much 
increased by the peculiar circumstances under which 1 am called upon to fulfil 
the duties of your chairman ; and, perceiving among this audience some of the 
most learned and distinguished men, before whose age and experience it would 
better become me to be silent, I confess my confidence has almost forsaken me; 
and my mind would surely sink under the weight of this exertion, did I not 
know that all the deficiencies of the person addressing you will readily be made 
up by the intelligence and sagacity of those who hear him. 

In conformity with the common practice upon such occasions, I beg your in- 
dulgence while I shall endeavour, in the briefest manner, to give an outline of 
the design, commencement, and progress of the American Society for Colo- 
nizing THE Free People of Colour of the United States, and in aid of 
which this public meeting has been called, leaving it to be filled up by gentle- 
men who are much more competent, and no doubt prepared, to give this matter 
a thorough investigation. 

Slavery, with all its unprecedented atrocities, had, for many years, been the 
constant theme of reflection and discussion among the philanthropists of the 
world ; and in no country were their exertions to put an end to that traffic and 
to make amends for the mistaken policy and cruel inhumanity of our pro- 
genitors more zealous and sincere than in this our own. Various had been the 
suggestions and plans of the friends of justice and humanity, to put a stop to 
that trade, and for the gradual abolition of slavery throughout the country. 
But no man was found sufficiently bold and able to lay before the public 
,a well-digested plan, obviating the objections which had always been raised 
against this effort of benevolence, (the greatest of which was the letting 
loose upon the community of the United States such a body of men who had no 
important interest at stake, nor any common concern in the permanency of our 
institutions,) until the Rev. Mr. Finley, of this State, with the assistance of 
others, made known the present scheme of the American Colonization Society 

18 



64 APPENDIX E. 

The remonibrance of Mr. Finloj-'s exaltod virtues and steady perseverance in 
the paths of rectitude and honour and humanity svrell my bosom with emo- 
tions not easily to be checked ; for to none were they better known tlian to niy- 
Bclf, havin;; been one of his pupils ; and may I be permitted on this occasion to 
offer my humble, but sincere, tribute of respect to the memory of one so great 
and so good? His object was national as well as humane and religious. The 
nation ought, and I have no doubt will, honour him. If *hose, then, who 
are connected with him by no other tie than that of national pride, will re- 
spect and cherish his memory, where would you draw the limits to that ardent 
and enthusiastic regard which every friend may be allowed to entertain for his 
character? I have said he was a good man ; and, as it is the highest eulogium 
that can be bestowed upon any one, I will leave this subject, pleasing as it is, 
for the purpose of performing my duty and relieving you, as soon as possible, 
from the fatigue of hearing me, and be myself relieved from that perturbation 
of mind which arises from the novelty of my situation. 

It has been stated that the objects of the authors of that institution were 
national and religious ; but, perhaps, it will not be amiss to be a little more 
particular and minute, as there appears to be some misunderstanding of that 
particular. 

Their first and great object was a gradual abolition of slavery. They perceived 
the dangers that would result from the liberation of slaves in any number until 
some suitable place beyond the limits of the United States had been prepared 
for their reception, and, therefore, proposed the plan which is now in successful 
operation. 

A second motive was to reclaim the inhabitants of Africa from savageness 
and brutality. That vast continent is said to contain fifty millions of inhabit- 
ants, whose pleasures are sloth and idleness; their employment, rapine and 
murder; their knowledge, treachery; their government, force, cruelty, and op- 
pression ; their religion, a blind devotion to the most profane and bloody super- 
stitions ; and, in truth, the whole of that immense population vitiated and de- 
based by the most profound ignorance and unrestrained barbarism. To civilize 
this degenerate people, to change their ignorance into knowledge, their horrible 
superstition into a right understanding of the Christian religion, their treachery 
into good faith, and their slothfulness into industry, are among the results 
contemplated by the proposed plan of the Americwn Coloxization Society. 

A third motive, that was strong in its operation upon the mind of Mr. Finley 
and his coadjutors, was the suppression of the slave-trade. I need not detain 
you b}' any comment upon the wickedness and barbarity of that trade ; it has 
been so often the theme of just reproach and severe invective, and all Christen- 
dom seems to have settled down upon the principle that such traffickers are 
" hofites hnmani generis." But, as the first founders of that institution have so 
often been accused of extravagant and visionary expectations, it may not be 
unbecoming in me to state how it was expected that the establishment of a 
colony on the coast of Africa would operate upon that trade. 

All the inhabitants of that region, south of the Great Desert, have been for 
ages constantly supplied with rum, tobacco, pipes, &c. &c. through the instru- 
mentality of the slave-traders; and, having beeu led to believe that their supply 
of those articles depended entirely upon the prosecution and prosperity of that 
trade, they are continually engaged in wars for the purpose of its continuation. 
They have been led from the cultivation of their ricii and luxuriant soil, and 
even from the chase, the legitimate pursuit and n)anly employment of savage 
life, to the unnatural practice of speculating in human blood ! No rational 
mind can believe that the feelings of relation, and friend, and tribe, and coun- 
tryman, could have been originally denied to this people ; but rather that it had 
been paralyzed by the prospect of gain, the removal of which powerful principle 
would restore to the African, in full force, his natural regards and friendships. 
It was, therefore, believed that the establishment of a coh)ny in the heart of 
the slave-trade would lead them to the cultivation of their land and the ardour 
of the chase as a more quiet and easy mode of obtaining those articles of Eur 
ropcan luxury which have become almost necessary to their existence. 



APPENDIX E. 65 

Such Vi-ere tlie views and intentions upon Avhich the American Society for 
Colonizin<>; the Free People of Colour in ttie United States was instituti^d. This 
scheme had no sooner been promuli;ated than an attack was made upon the 
purity of its principles. It was thought by the inhabitants of the Southern 
section of the countr}' to be a plan generated in the North to operate against 
the institutions of the South ; and in the North it was thought to be a Southern 
project to get rid of the free blacks only that they might tighten the chains 
of slavery. Steady perseverance, however, overcame misrepresentation and 
calumny, and they both yielded to the irresistible force of truth and humanitj'. 
A cry of visionary enthusiasm was, however, still heard. The constant excla- 
mation was, " Show us that your plans are feasible; convince us that the thing 
can be done." 

The managers went to the experiment elated with hope and joy, and, after 
great exertion, fitted out an expedition to the island of Sherbro. Intelligence 
from that expedition of a most disastrous nature soon reached the United 
States. It wrung the heai'ts of every friend of the society and checked, for a 
time, (until the true cause of that melancholy misfortune could be clearly under- 
stood,) the exertions of the managi^rs. 

Although it was necessary at that time that the cause should be explained, it 
is not so now in the present advanced state of the society's affairs ; for the pes- 
tilence of the island of Sherbro, or the treachery and infamy of Kezzell, has no 
more to do with the climate of Montserrado, or the character of its inhabitants, 
than a Southern fever can affect the State of New Jersey. I will not, therefore, 
dwell upon that lamentation and grief longer than to pay a proper tribute of 
respect to the memory of Mills and of Bacon, and the others who fell in the 
exercise of the most magnanimous and disinterested humanity. Their bodies 
are on the coast, but their memories are embalmed in the hearts of their coun- 
trymen. May their names and their exertions be perpetuated ! — the one for 
praise and the other for imitaticm. 

On the first intelligence of this disaster, the whole plan was denounced as 
impracticable ; and, without looking into the causes of that melancholy fatality, 
the opponents of the institution would persuade that the Almighty had placed 
impassable barriers to the civilization of Africa, and that, therefore, the scheme 
of the Colonization Society must fail. But whence came this important con- 
clusion ? — this would-be prophecy? — this knowledge of the future ? Was it the 
result of careful examination and the deduction of sound philosophy? or did 
the great Jehovah let them into the secrets of his unfathomable designs ? or 
was it written in the sunbeams of heaven? 

No ; they would not undergo the labour of inquiry and rational investigation ; 
they were unworthy of inspiration ; nor had they any knowledge of the future; 
but it was the force of inveterate prejudice, the violent efl\isions of hast}' thought. 

In this distress, the first attention of the society was directed to a complete 
and impartial investigation of the causes which produced it. Their misfortune 
was traced to the deceit of persons in whom they had a right to confide and to 
the unfortunate location of the first settlement. They arose from this painful 
inquiry with minds harassed with grief; but, fortided with confidence and 
relying upon that Almighty Power who said, " Let there be liglit, and there 
was liglit," they made another appeal to their friends and the public, and were 
enabled, in the course of a year, to obtain an agent of great enterprise and 
merit, who was directed, with a public vessel to assist him, to make a careful 
examination of the whole coast of Africa, to ascertain if there was not some 
part thereof which, from the salubrity of the climate and the fertility of its soil, 
would afford a well-grounded hope of future prosperity. Tfie success which 
rewarded the courageous enterprise and the disinterested sacrifices of Dr. Ayres 
is known to the public, and, as tlie particulars can be found in the reports (jf 
the society, I will not detain you with a relation of the difficulties and priva- 
tions endured by him, but be satisfied with stating that, overcoming all difficul- 
ties pronounced to be insurmountable, he succeeded in establishing a colony at 
Cape Montserrado, which is called Liberia, and which is now flourishing and 
happy, and is a clear demonstration of the feasibility of the plan of the Colo- 



06 APPENDIX E. 

nization Society, an.l a practical answer to the common exclamation, "Convince 
us that the tliiiij^ can bo done." 

The succejisful e.stal>lishinerit of the colony at Liberia has silenced all doubts 
in respi'ct to tlie practicability of tiie colonizing sy-*teni, and the improbability 
of its future success is now tlie principal {ground of objection. Tin'se doubts 
are founded chiefly upon the insaiuljrity of the climate, the barrenness of the 
soil, the obstacles to its cultivation, the want of capacity iu the negro, and, 
lastly, the great expense attending their transportation thither. 

There is not a greater misappri;hension in relation to tliis whole matter than 
that which has arisen from the want of proper inf irmation in regard to the climate 
of that part of the coast of Africa. It is unnecessary to enter into any specula- 
tion upon that subject. It is now placed beyond reasonable doubt by this most 
convincing evidence that the colony of Lilieria has been settled for three years, 
during which time twenty-five deaths only have occurred, — fourteen by fever, 
five killed in battle, one by falling from a tree, two drowned, and the rest 
casualties. The greatest obstinacy cannot ask more incontrovertible proof on 
this point. 

The soil of that part of the coast of Africa is exceedingly fertile. It is capa- 
ble of producing rice, cotton, sugar, and indigo; and gold-dust, hides, gums, and 
camphor, can be procured in great abundance. The facilities which arc otfered 
for <;ultivating the scjil at Liberia are, at this time, very great. For a few years 
past, the slave-trade (through which channel, as 1 before mentioned, the natives 
have been in the habit of receiving their supplies of rum, tobacco, &c. &c.) has 
been much interrupted, and in some places, on that part of the coast, entirely 
stopped ; fi)r instance, at Liberia and its neighbourhood, once a great mart for 
that trade. This has rendered their supplies precarious, the pressure of which 
uncertainty is felt by all, and they are desirous for some more regular and certain 
means of procuring those necessaries, and are ready and willing to engage in 
any employment offered to them by which they may bo obtained. There are 
thcmsands of people tliere whose energies may be directed in any course, either 
for good or evil. Enhance the value of slaves by a brisk demand, and you will 
produce war, rapine, and murder. Create a demand for what their soil can 
produce, and they will use the hoe. Give them a pound of tobacco, a yard of 
muslin, a string of beads, a pair of shoes or a hat, in exchange, and you will 
get the valuable productions of their rich and fertile soil. 

As to the intellectual qualifications of the negro, it is unfair to judge him, in 
that respect, as he is seen here in a state of servitude. At the English settle- 
ments upon the coast of Africa, natives have been taught all the mechanic arts. 
In Regent's Town, young natives are making rapid progress in the Latin and 
Greek languages, who, six years ago, were wild and ignorant. It is found they 
acquire a knowledge of the arts and sciences with as much facility as any other 

Seople, and it is only here, in their state of degradation, that such a question 
as been agitated. 

With regard to the expense of transportation, it is by no means so great as 
has been represented. 1 have the authority of Dr. Ayres, of whom I have be- 
fore spoken, for stating that the last company of one hundred and five persons 
were taken out for $20 each ; and, when the prosperity of the colony shall 
enable them to furnish a return cargo, it will unquestionably reduce the average 
price to a much lower rate, and, in fact, a great many will be able to work 
their own passages as soon as a brisk trade shall be opened with the colony. 

In this manner of viewing the affairs of the American Society for Colonizing 
the Free People of Colour of the United States, I think you will yield your 
hearty assent to the purity and philanthropy of its jirinciples ; for you, no 
doubt, desire the abolition of slaveiy and are anxious for the civilization of 
Africa, and cannot but rejoice in the destruction of the slave-trade. I think, 
also, that you must be satisfied that tlie climate is sufficiently salubrious for our 
black population ; that the soil is good ; that the facilities for cultivation and 
improvement are great ; that the intellect of the negro, in a state of natural 
freedom, is strong enough; that the expense of transportation is not much; 
and, finally, that the plan of the American Society for Colonizing the Free Feo- 



APPENDIX E. 67 

pie of Cdlour of the United States is not only practicable, but there is great 
probability that, with moderate assistance from the nation, it will succeed to the 
utmost expectations of its first friends. 

To appeal to your feelings upon an occasion like the present, and to offer in- 
ducements to a popular assembly to aid in so good a work, presents a fine field 
for declamation. But I believe there is too much intelligence in this meeting 
to bear with such pie-fumption from me, and that all you require is a fair un- 
derstanding of the subject to induce you to advocate, with zeal and alacrity, the 
views of the parent institution and to form a society auxiliary thereto. 



Speech at Wasfdngton, 1825. 

In the African Repository of March, 1825, appears a report of the annual 
meeting of the Colonization Society held in the Supreme Court Room of the 
Capitol at Washington on the preceding 19th of February. A number of distin- 
guished individuals were present; among them Gi^ncral Lafayette, Chief-Justice 
Marshall, and others. The African Repository publishes the following extracts 
from a speech delivered on this occasion by Robert F. Stockton, Esq., on the 
presentation of certain resolutions of the New Jersey Colonization Society, of 
which the then Lieutenant was a delegate : — 

"Why is it, sir, that the people of these United States have thus far enjoyed 
a happiness and prosperity unexampled in the annals of nations ? Is it exclusively 
to be attributed to the wisdom of her statesmen ? to the upright and independent 
administration of her laws ? to the physical strength and resources of the coun- 
try ? to the prowess of her sailors ? No, sir ! All this is well, is excellent, is 
admirable ; but more than this is, nevertheless, required. It is because — what- 
ever may be the cancerous and alarming evils which, by its early masters, have 
been entailed on the finest country in the woiLl — her institutions of modern 
times, dating their birth with the American Revolution, are based substantially 
on moral rectitude and the equal rights of man. But, sir, let me not be mis- 
understood on this delicate and important question. With the enthusiasts of 
the North, I embark not in the wild and destructive scheme which calls on the 
South for immediate and universal emancipation. With the South, — but, sir, I 
will not ofi'end against the talent, and refinement, and magnanimity, by which 
all, who have the happiness to know it at all, know it to be distinguished, by 
suggesting the possibility that what long-lived error has made indispensable 
for the present she can wish to increase, and strengthen, and perpetuate. No, 
sir! There is a golden mean which all who would pursue the solid interest 
and reputation of their country may discern at the very heart of their confede- 
ration and will both advocate and enforce, — a principle of justice, conciliation, 
and humanity, — a principle, sir, which is not inconsistent with itself, and yet 
can sigh over the degradation of the slave, defend the wisdom and prudence of 
the South against the charge of studied and pertinacious cruelty, and yet, M'ith 
an eye of warning and a voice of thunder, invoke them to be stirring in the 
great cause and claims of Nature. Thus, sir, it is that, although inheritors of 
difficulties of no ordinary complexity, these United States, in their separate as 
well as their federal relations, are substantially based on those elevated maxims, 
which, if they continue to maintain, will not fail to reward them with unpai-al- 
leled liberality. 

" Nor, sir, in the future application of these great principles, do I presume 
to counsel the statesmen of the day, or to instruct them in iheir creed of political 
morality. But surely, sir, as a citizen and a freeman, yielding to no one in 
ardent devotion to my country's honour, I may be allowed to conjure those dis- 
tinguished individuals upon whose talents, integrity, and patriotism, we repose, 
not to lose sight of those beacon-lights which are calculated on the one hand to 
protect us from danger and on the other to lead us to prosperity. Is it unbe- 
coming in me to beseech them not to mistake sin for expediency, and to be in- 
structed by the philosophy of histvjry ? What, sir, in the rearing and advance- 
ment of a young, reflecting, and enterprising people, are tiie real advantages 



68 APPENDIX E. 

of the ajje in vrliicli we live? Are tliey that ar(^hitocture is rehiiildin^r her 
proudest temph's? that music swells its unequalled harmony? that painlin;;; bids 
fair to rival the works of its ancient masters? or that all the arts, wliether 
useful or ornamental, p;uided by tiie light of liberal science, are rapidly striding 
to perfection? Xo, sir; it is because we have before us the experience of so 
many ai^es and the philosophy of so many human experiments and human 
failures to humble and enlighten us. 

" But unfortunately, sir, history is rarely examined as it should be. Of what 
avail is it, in the pursuit of the speculator, that cities and empires have been 
reared and overturned, and that so many towering and intrepid spii-its have, 
with all their schemes, been tumbled from their elevation, if he fail to consider 
the moral influence upon human events and to look for their accomplishment 
beyond the boundary of human means? There are, sir, crimes of nations as 
well as of individuals ; and, while the immortal essence of the latter is reserved 
for judgment when time shall be no more, the former shall account in the only 
sphere to which tlieir physical conformation is adapted and beyond which their 
identity is forbidden bj" the imperishal)le requisites for eternity. S|)ain, sir, has 
had her day of glory and of happiness, and why is it not so with her now? 
The siiort-sighted politician will trace it no higlier than to the natural infirmities 
of human institutions, the scarcity of her patriots, the exhaustion of her re- 
sources, and the gradual progress of bloated luxury, to eventual want and 
general degradation. But, sir, can we be satisfied with this trite array of se- 
condary causes — this blind and, therefore, hopeless grasping after truth and 
wisdom? It is indispensable that we should answer, No. It would be inte- 
resting to analyze the history of Spain in support of the position I would main- 
tain, but time does not permit; and if it did, to the present assembl}' it would, 
in all probability, be more than superfluous. But, sir, can tliere be hazard in 
the assertion that Spain has even now, however inglorious, inactive, or subdued, 
her abundant resources, her port of dignity, her romantic chivalry, her armies 
of patriots? Cast your eye upon her fertile regions, breathe in the luxuries of 
her delicious climate, calculate the value of her exhaustless colonies — her ad- 
vantages for commerce and the number of her inhabitants, and who shall 
deny to her abundant resources? 

"As for her patriots, — for the moral and intellectual energies that might be 
expected to excite them in the great causes of national and individual inde- 
pendence, — need they be mentioned that they may be remembered ? The 
accents of her gallant defenders expiring on the scaffolds of her own erection 
are still piercing our ears; and yet, with all her elements of worth, and 
pride, and chivalry, — with all nature to cheer her, all art to aid her, all science 
to instruct, all example to rouse, and all wrongs to madden, — Spain is still poor 
and wretched, spiritless and ignorant, the ruinous and crumbling corner of a 
splendid continent. But how? Spain, sir, has been arraigned before the King 
of kings, and is now writhing in agony under the torture of his retributive 
justice. The curse of successful, but insatiate, avarice, of unintermitted wrong, 
of unbending insolence and unsurpassing cruelty, is upon her I She made 
' unto herself a golden calf and fell down and worshipped it.' She did more, 
and the ' filthy witness' of it stains her hands. The blood of thousands of 
unoffending natives is still smoking for vengeance ; and when shall the ruth- 
less deeds of Cortez and Pizarro be forgotten ? When it shall comport with 
the mysterious dispensations of Heaven to be appeased and forgive her, Spain 
may again be free and glorious and happy. 

" There are other nations, sir, yet in tlie pomp and confidence of ascendency, 
to whom a lesson of national justice and moderation would be useful ; but 
'iniquity in years,' and with strength undiminished, must be left to abler cor- 
rection. Time, the arbitrator of the destinies of the world, will do his duty, 
and the Ruler of the universe, ' before Nvhom ever_y knee must bow,' will be 
at hand to decide and punish. But, sir, returning from abroad, with these 
serious warnings from ancient communities, to the nurture and accomplishment 
of our useful and interesting country, let us not be wanting in the manly exer- 
cise of self-examination. We, too, have a moral debt, contracted by our ances- 



APPENDIX E. 69 

tors, formidable in its origin, and which has been daily accumulating ; and, if 
we desire that this young day's happiness may not be succeeded by a wretched 
imbecility, and that our Constitution (the sublimest structure for the promulga- 
tion and protection of human rights the world ever saw, the very capital of 
human freedom) shall be first completed, and then endure through the lapse of 
ages, let us not presume on the tranquillity of to-day. This may be the calm 
out of which bursts the tornado, this the smooth and deceptive water on the edge 
of the cataract. The time may come when, in the dispensation of Providence, 
this great people, too, may be stretched in death before the scrutiny of posterity. 
" Let it not be said that, in the pride of youth and strength of manhood, she 
perished of a heart blackened by atrocity and ossified by countless cruelties to 
the Indian and the African. I will trespass no longer. If, sir, I have said a 
word by which the objects of our institution and tiie humane recommendation 
of our venerable Executive for the colonization of our aborigines is likely to be 
promoted, I shall be happy." 



Letter of Commodore Stockton on the Slavery Question. 

MR. WEBSTER TO COMMODORE STOCKTON. 

Washington, March 22, 1850. 
My Dear Sir : — 

I send to you, as an old friend, a copy of my late speech in the Senate. It 
relates to a subject quite interesting to the country, as connected with the ques- 
tion of proper governments for those new territories which you had an import- 
ant agency in bringing under the poAver of the United States. 

I would hardly ask your opinion of the general sentiments of the speech, al- 
though I know you are a very competent judge, but that, being out of the strife 
of politics, your judgment is not likely to be biassed, and that you have as great 
a stake as any man in the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of 
the Government on its true principles. 

I am, dear sir. 

With great respect, yours, 

Daniel Webster. 
Commodore Stockton. 



REPLY OF COMMODORE STOCKTON. 

Princeton, March 25. 
Dear Sir: — 

I thank you for your letter and a copy of the recent speech delivered by you 
in the Senate of the United States. 

I need say nothing in commendation of your course, which has been so gene- 
rally approved, and will proceed (without referring to any difference of opinion 
that may seem to exist between us on the subject) to communicate to yuu my 
candid and long-cherished opinions on the subject of slavery as it exists in the 
United States, and the duty of the Government and the people in connection 
with it. 

In view of a national crisis in the affairs of Great Britain, one of her eminent 
statesmen once said, " In order to be prepared for the trials of these times, we 
should be possessed of a prompt facility of adverting in all our doubts to some 
grand and comprehensive truth. In a deep and strong soil must that tree fix 
its roots, the height of which is to reach to heaven, and the sight of it to the 
ends of the earth." 

A great crisis presents itself in the path of the Republic. Interests of incal- 
culable consequence are involved in it — to you, to myself, to every citizen — con- 



70 APPENDIX E. 

sequences not limited to our times, but extending; onward to all future genera- 
tions, and, if tliere is an}- thing in the hopes that have been cherished of the 
universally progressive principles of liberty, to the world for agt;s to come. 
"There are times (says another eminent person) when the assertion of great 
principles is the best service a man can render society," and this is such a time. 
We are all called upon to pause at the present crisis and consider well what 
are the demands of duty. It is no time to palter about pariy distinctions or 
seetional differences; now, if ever, it becomes us to feel that we are Americans 
— only Americans. It is no time to calculate questions of personal popularity ; 
that sacrifice which any citizen may make is as nothing, if it contributes to save 
his country. A Jerseyman myself, born on one of those proud battle-fields 
where American liberty was purchased, bearing a life devoted to the service of 
the Union, I can withhold nothing from the cause of that Union with which I 
solemnly believe liberty is herself identified, "one and inseparable." 

It appears to me that the polar truth to which the view of our fellow-citizens 
should Ijc directed in the present emergency is this: — that God works in the 
affairs of nations, and shapes them to his purposes ; and that to ascertain his 
■will we must study in the school of his providences, and take counsel from the 
observation of his ways to regulate our own. The destinies of men and of na- 
tions are in the bosom of the Most High. He lives in the history of the past ; 
he will live in the history of the future ; and he who has most deeply reflected 
upon the records of the past has most clearly seen that the great characteristics ■■ 
■which have marked the progress of every nation, in every age, have eventually 
resulted in the accomplishment of some grand design in which the hand of 
Providence, though for a time obscured by shadows, has been at last clearly 
and distinctly seen. 

Of this our o-wn history furnishes a luminous example. The preparation for 
the erection of the great temple of civil and religious liberty we now inhabit 
began in the discoveries and convulsions of the fifteenth century. The materials 
for it were found in men schooled by providential trials and disciplined to the 
work they were to commence; and it is as rational to suppose the world was 
the production of chance, as to suppose that the combination of events which 
led them to this continent, which ciierished and protected their infant colonies, 
which brought about the Revolution and its results, and has made us what we 
are, was the work of chance ; it is this which inspires me with hojie that He 
who founded the Republic will save it — that he has great purposes to accom- 
plish yet, and that they will be unfolded through successive years for ages to 
come, in perfecting the institutions of a rational freedom here, and in extending 
them to all other continents. 

Though men were the instruments, the American Revolution was the work 
of an unseen Power; the actors in it tliemselves looked back with astonishment 
at the course they had taken and the results that had been accomplished. The 
greater the event, the more clearly has the hand of Providence always been 
seen in it ; the greater the hero, the more heartfelt always has been his acknow- 
ledgment that a superior destiny controlled his actions. The American Consti- 
tution is the result of a fearful struggle. Its full price was by no means the 
sufferings undergone in the conflict. The series of events by which it was ac- 
com[)lished we are now able to trace distinctly back, through the privations 
and trials of the early colonists, to the days when popular freedt)m first began 
the contest with arbitrary power in the civil wars of England ; and its pathway 
is everywhere marked with patient endurance and costly sacrifice. 

Things permanently good are of slow growth: the offspring of hardship, they 
are made strong through suffering. So universal is this law, that the most 
hasty minds have a secret misgiving of the efiicacy of hasty products ; and we 
would as soon expect undisciplined troops to be equal to the hardships and 
perils of a dangerous campaign, as that an undiscij)lined community could 
triumph in that fiercest of all warfares, — the warfare which marks everywhere 
the pathway to national existence, greatness, and virtue. 

More than two centuries have passed since the events which were to result in 
founding the Republic were put in motion ; and who does not perceive, both in 



APPENDIX E. 71 

our colonial and constitutional history, that the process by which we have, 
within a comparatively few years, come to the full achievement of a distinctive 
nationality, has been one mainly of forbearance and self-denial? Nor have we 
been the only sufferers. When our ancestors came to this country, they found 
it in the possession of another race. That race has had their day. A great 
continent, fitted by nature for large developments in the progress of humanity, 
had been for centuries committed to their keeping, and thej^ had proved faith- 
less to their trust. It was manifest, from the commencement of the struggles, 
that one of the two races must give way to the other, and no one doubts the 
beneficence of that Providence which decided for the Anglo-Sax(m race. Yet 
how touching is the story of the red man's wrongs ! We commiserate his suffer- 
ings, while we clearly see that the decree by which his race wastes away before 
the advancing footsteps of civilization is the fiat of Infinite Wisdom. 

The same all-pervading Providence has brought us in contact with still an- 
other race, — the African, — but under widely different circumstances. Out of 
this circumstance, and the events connected with it, the crisis we are now con- 
sidering has grown. Three millions of that race, scattered through fifteen of 
the States of the Union, are in the condition of servitude. Individuals in the 
non-slaveholding States have not only been long in the habit of denouncing the 
holding of slaves as a sin, as, indeed, among the worst of crimes, but have in- 
sisted on immediate and unconditional abolition — have carried on the work of 
agitation — have encouraged slaves to desert their masters — have protected fugi- 
tive slaves from pursuit and reclamation, and have even gone so far as to de- 
clare that it was cause for separating from the South altogether. 

The General Government has been agitated ; compromise after compromise 
has been made, and proved, as was to be expected, only the means of post- 
poning rather than of settling the question, until at last things have reached a 
condition that real danger to the Union seems to be apprehended by the wisest 
men of both sections of the country. It is time for men now to speak out, 
calmly, but fearlessly. Whatever has been wrong should be made right, and 
the question settled now and forever. We should not meanly shrink from our 
just responsibilities and put them upon our children. 

Now, in reference to the relation of master and slave, it is proper we should 
bear in mind that African slavery was introduced into this country by no act of 
ours. For its introduction the American people are in no just sense responsible. 
Its introduction here was the act of Great Britain while we were her colonies. 
She engrafted this system into our communities at a time when these commu- 
nities (then in their infancy) were unable to make any effectual resistance. 
Our ancestors, at the time, and through all the process by which it was accom- 
plished, remonstrated and protested against it ; but their remonstrances and 
protests were unheeded. Its introduction was considered by the early colonists 
an evil — a measure of oppression to them as well as to the slave ; but they were 
as powerless to resist it as the slave himself. 

So far as we are concerned, this circumstance in our condition is providential. 
If we would presume to scrutinize and judge the ways of Providence, we are 
driven back to first principles. God rules in the affairs of nations and of men 
as an absolute sovereign, and shapes all human events to his great purposes. 
The purposes he designed to accomplish in all this may be involved in com- 
yjarative darkness now; but if it shall appear hereafter that this teas the means 
by which, in the lapse of centuries, he accomplished the redemption of Africa her- 
self who will say that the means he chose were inconsistent with his wisdom or 
his goodness? 

This fact, then, is undisputed, that when the battles of the Revolution had 
been fought — when the North and the South had passed shoulder to shoulder 
through that long and bloody and self-sacrificing struggle, and the independence 
of their country was achieved, the institution of slavery, planted by other hands 
in our midst, existed. A very large number of our citizens, both in the North 
and South, were slaveholders. Property is the creature of the law, and slaves 
had been made property by law — been so held for ages. What was to be done? 
The general welfare — the preservation of all that had been gained — the law of 



I - ^ APPENDIX E. 

self-defence — required that a Governmont should be estahlished, and that this 
Government should cnihrace and coniliine in one indissoluble union all the 
liberated colonies. If that had not been accomplished, all would have been 
shipwrecked together. 

The men of the Revolution saw this plainly. They were men equal to the 
crisis. They considered the question as a whole. They sacrificod on the altar 
of concession their different views and interests as to particulars, tliat tliey 
migiit reach harmoniously- the grand result. The articles of confederation, and 
subsequently the Constitution, were the results of compromise; and whatever 
politicians may say — the spirit — the intent — the fair construction of that com- 
promise — is, t/iai the institution of slavery belongs exclusirely to the States, as a 
matter of State regulation, and that the General Government has nothing to do 
with it. 

No power over it was delegated by the Constitution to the General Govern- 
ment, (e.xcept as to the importation of slaves into the States,) nor was any such 
power prohibited by it to the States. It was expressly provided that persons 
held to service or labour in one State under the laws thereof, escaping into an- 
other, should not be discharged from such service or labour, but should be de- 
livered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labour might be due ; 
and by an amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 17U1, it was provided 
that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
people. Such is the Constitution — such the compromise upon which it was 
formed — such the imperative necessity of that compromise: and even if that 
compromise and that Constitution were the result of a mistake, it is binding 
now, and as long as it shall remain unaltered, on every law-abiding man. 

If the toleration of slavery — if the permission for its existence in any part of 
the Union — was a great national crime, when and by whom was that crime com- 
mitted? At the formation of the Government, at the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion, and l)y the Washingtons, the Roger Shermans, the llamiltons, tiie Madi- 
sons, the Franklins, the Pinkneys, of the land — by such men as Livingston and 
Paterson, lirearly iuid Dayton, of my own native State, approved and sanctioned 
with unparalleled unanimity by the North and South. Under its auspices, I 
need njtsay with what giant strides the Republic has advanced to greatness 
and prosperity, nor that heaven has smiled propitiously upon our common 
heritage. 

Now, the question which has come up with such a threatening aspect before 
the country is, in ni}- judgment, one of morals, not of politics, — questions always 
the most difficult and dangerous to deal with, Ijecause the}' do not lie in notions 
of expediency, but in matters of conscience. They are always liable to run into 
fiinaticism, and are always mingled with questions of religious faith and moral 
obligation. The question is one of morals, and as such it is to be settled, if 
settled permanently at all. Out of this aspect of the case have sprung, as inci- 
dents, all the questions that have heretofore been and are now the sulijects of 
discussion. The Convention of '87, the Missouri Compromise, the contested 
question of abolition petitions in Congress, the agitations in the North, the re- 
criminations of the South, the difficulties about fugitive slaves, and latterly, the 
California question and the Wilmot Proviso, are all but branches of one fruitful 
tree — the (piestion as to the moral character of slavery as it exists in the States, 
and the moral duty consequent upon that character. In reference to those 
phases or incidents of this question, which involve the action of the Government, 
thej' never would have been unsettled, or at any rate never would have come up 
in their present embarrassing forms, if the General Government had adhered, as 
it ouglit in n)y opinion to have adhered, from the beginning, to a strict con- 
strui'tion of the Constitution. The framers of this instrument meant to exclude, 
and by the language of the instrument did exclude, the national Government 
from all action upon tlie subject. 

They granted no such power; they expressly excluded all powers not granted. 
Whenever the doctrine of inferential powers — tiiat latitudinarian doctrine — 
comes fully to be insisted on and adopted, the Constitution will become itself a 



APPENDIX E. 



1-3 



thing of wax, to be moulded, by the ever-changing opinions of men, into what- 
ever shape those opinions happen to take ; tlie majority will become supreme ; 
its will, the Constitution, and every thing conservative, will be liable to be 
broken down. Suppose a measure oppressive — ruinous — to one portion of the 
Union, is adopted by a mere constitutional majority, and in constitutional form: 
it is said the party complaining and denying its constitutionality has an ap- 
peal to the Supreme Court. But to argue that that is always to be regarded as 
a place of absolute security, is to argue that it is infallible. It undergoes the 
process of change by death ; the new incumbents are apt to partake of the views 
of the Constitution held by a majority of the Government, and the Court to be- 
come itself the advocate of those views. Beyond this are the rocks, the breakers 
of revolution — the dernier resort of an oppressed people. The Constitution 
itself was originally intended to be the cable and anclior of the Uni(m and all its 
parts ; and nothing, you may rely upon it, but the doctrine of a strict construc- 
tion, can ever preserve it what it was intended to be. 

Upon the question of domestic slavery in the States and in the territories, non- 
intervention is the true principle. There the letter of the Constitution placed it, 
and there it should be left. The law of nature, fixing the bounds of the insti- 
tution by the unalterable constitution of the coloured race, the temperature of 
the climate and nature of the soil, and the will of the people acting through the 
State Legislatures upon their several States, are the true and legitimate regu- 
lators ; and all interference, except moral suasion, the power of argument, the 
free expression of opinion, ought to be excluded. 

I now come to the main question — the question which lies back of all the 
others. 1. Is domestic slavery a sin, or an unmitigated evil? and, 2. What is 
the duty of the people of the non-slaveholding States respecting it? These 
questions go to the root of the whole difficulty. 

1. Is domestic slavery a sin, or an unmitigated evil? In order to arrive at 
an intelligent conclusion respecting the right or the wrong of any complex 
scheme or any existing institution, we must be careful not to array our feelings 
against our reason ; nor ought we to allow our displeasure at particular cases 
of excess to interfere with a fair and deliberate consideration of the general 
working and tendency of the system as a whole. It belongs to this question to 
consider, — 1. The condition of the coloured man as it would have been had he 
been left in Africa. 2. The circumstances under which we find him here. 3. 
The necessity, if such there be, of his present continuance in the condition in 
which we find him. 4. The ultimate tendency of what may seem to be a provi- 
dential arrangement of this state of things. 

1. Of all the races of men with which history and travel have acquainted us, 
there is none so sunk beyond all hope of self-restoration as the African on his 
wide continent. In ignorance so utter that he is elevated little above the brute, 
in superstition so gross that it drags him even lower than the brute, without a 
thought of liberty, he is the sport of tyranny in its lowest, meanest, and most 
cruel forms ; he has nothing he can call his own ; he has no idea of God, of 
justice, of moral obligation, of the rights of persons or property. In a Avord, 
"Africa has long forgotten God, and God has abandoned Africa" — but not, I 
tvatit, Jbrever. From such a land and such a condition — sold, bartered away by 
his countrymen — the slave was brought to these shores while we were colonists 
and subject to British law. Here he is in a civilized and Christian country ; he 
has more opportunities of enlightenment than he would have had in Africa; he 
is, as a general rule, treated with kindness ; he is protected from want in sick- 
ness and old age, and is, on the whole, better off, safer, happier, than he would 
have been in his native country. 

2. But in the second place, with the moral character of the act bringing the 
slave to this country we have now nothing to do. We find him here ; the thing 
is done. So far as the slave-trade is concerned, we have acted on that, and 
abolished it. Slavery was introduced in other times and under other auspices. It 
existed wlien the Government was established; an institution which could not 
be got rid of — which had of necessity to be tolerated. Slaves had been made 
property in the Colonies by British iaw. The Government found it an existing 



74 ^ APPENDIX E. 

institution, and tho Constitution loft it so — of nocessity, imporative and uncon- 
troUalilc — to 1)0 enacted on exclusively by the States, suhject to the moulding 
and chaiio;iiij; and controlling o|iinit)ns and consciences of those concerned. 
Those have not been inactive. In many of the States the institution has been 
abolislioii ; in others, molinrateil ; in all, it is a question for opinion and con- 
Bcience to act upon. As the General Government has no power to abolish it, 
80 it has no power to prevent a^iy State from abolishing it. 

3. In the third place, every considerate man sees that in the present condi- 
tion of things slavery cannot be immediately and absolutely abolished. We 
must reason abtmt things as they are — not as we might wish them to be. The 
slave is property; he became so by a law of our common ancestors ; he was left 
in that condition by the law of our common fatliers who founded the Republic. 
The burden of this purchase should be borne in all justice, equally by our citi- 
zens, and wo are not ready to pay the price. But, if we were ready, he is not in 
a condition to take care of himself. lie has not the culture, the training, the 
experience, necessary to self-dependence. And where is he to go? No reflecting 
man is prepared to say he is willing to have three millions of slaves turned loose 
in the States, to fill the prisons and poor-houses and alms-houses of the country, 
or to live by plunder on the community. What, too, is to l)e his lot for the 
future in such a case? Is he to live in our midst as a marked and degraded 
being, through all time, or are we prepared to place him on an equality with us, 
civilly and socially. Are we ready for amalgamation? 

There seems under those circumstances to be a necessity for his continuance 
at present in the condition in which he is placed. 

In the fourth place, the hand of Providence seems to be clearly pointing out 
an ultimate design in all this arrangement of things. Yonder is Africa, with her 
one hundred and fifty millions of miserable, degraded, ignorant, lawless, super- 
stitious idolaters. Whoever has stood upon her sands, has stood upon a conti- 
nent that has geographical and physical peculiarities which belong to no other 
of the great divisions of the globe. The latter appear, upon the fiice of them, to 
have been adapted to draw out the energies of the natives in their inequalities 
of temperature, soil, and surface, inviting the ingenuity and enterprise of maa 
to overcome them, and in the varieties of their products tempting the inter- 
changes of commerce ; thus affording ample encouragement to tiie progress of 
civil and social improvement. But Africa is still, as of old, a land of silence and 
of mystery. Like the interminable dreariness of her own deserts, her moral 
wastes of mind lie waiting for the approach of influences from abroad. No 
savage people have ever advanced to a civilized state without intercommunica- 
tion with others. All the continents of the world have, in their turn, been occu- 
pied and civilized by means of colonies; but in no one of them did it appear so 
inevitably necessary, from a previous e.'camination of circumstances, as in that 
of Africa. It is plain to the very eye that Africa is a land to which civilization 
must be hroinjld. The attempt has been made over and (jvor again, by devoted 
missionaries and others, to jienetrate that land and seek to imjuirt the blessings 
of civilization and Christianity to her savage hordes. But the labour has been 
spent in vain. The white man cannot live in Africa. The annals of the Mora- 
vians, of Cape Colony, of Sierra Leone, of Liberia, contain the records of the 
sacrifice of some of the best men that have lived to grace the pages of any 
people's history, in the vain attempt to accomplish something for her redemp- 
tion through the instrumentality of white men. Who, then, is to do this work f 

Let now any calm, reflecting spectator of the present state of the world be 
asked to look at Africa, and then, from among the nations, point out the people 
])est calculated to do this work; and when his eye falls upon the descendants of 
the sons of that continent now in America, will he not say. These are the people 
appointed for that wor/c^ 

Tiie ways of God are mysterious. So Joseph was sold a slave into Egypt; so 
his father and his brethren were driven thither by providential circumstances; 
so their generations remained as slaves in Egypt lor four centuries and a half; 
and, when the appointed time had come, in His own appointed way the Ruler 
of nations led them to the accomplishment of His great purposes. And it is not 



APPENDIX E. 75 

to be foi-2;otten that it was not the act of holding this people in bondage for so 
many years, that Pharaoh and the Egyptians were punished ; but their crime 
Teas this : that when the Divine Being had prepared all tilings for the event he 
proposed to accomplish, and demanded, by an accredited ambassador, that they 
should be allowed to depart, "they would not let the people go." 

The great progenitor of the Israelites was a slaveholder ; the Israelites, after 
their emancipation, became slaveholders. Nothing is clearer than that under 
the Mosaic dispensation slavery was lawful ; the institution was recognised and 
regulated by the law of Moses ; and the founder of Christianity and his dis- 
ciples (though Judea and all the provinces of the Roman empire were in their 
times full of slaves, and slaves subjected to the most rigid laws) never forbade 
or even denounced the relation as sinful, or exhoi'ted masters to liberate their 
slaves ; but enjoined on masters the principles of humanity and justice, and on 
slaves obedience and contentment ; and those notions of morality may well be 
questioned which in our days disallow what Christ and his apostles did not 
disallow. 

Such an Exodus as that of the Jews from Egypt may not be within the pur- 
pose of the Deity in relation to the children of Africa now in this country, or 
their descendants. But has He no purpose in all this arrangement that has been 
going on, — in the gathering of a vast fiimily of these people here, — in their condi- 
tion of servitude, endurance, discipline, — in the difficulties with which their 
emancipation is surrounded, — in the natural impossibility that the whites ever 
will or can consent to raise them to a condition of equality? No purpose in 
casting their lot in a country so free for the interchange of opinion, and where 
opiniiin is so enlightened and progressive and there is so much benevolence and 
Christian enterprise? Has he not a purpose in all this, to accomplish (in some 
way of his own, through this instrumentality) the regeneration of the millions 
of benighted Africa? The germs of colonies are already planted there as the 
fruits of this system of servitude. But the free African among us clings to 
this country still, under all his disabilities, regardless of the claims of the land 
of his fathers upon him ; and may not slavery and the necessity of migration as 
the condition of his release be the appointed instrument to produce compliance? 
The colonies we have settled in Africa would, ere this day, have become a Re- 
public of power, had the free negroes of the North been willing to become citi- 
zens of it. But, like the Israelites of old, who would, but for the Divine inter- 
position, have sacrificed their liberators in the wilderness and returned into 
Egypt, these liberated descendants of Africa cannot be persuaded to look towards 
the land of their fathers. The millions of their coloured bondmen there awakea 
no sympathy in their hearts. Their fixed and resoluted purpose appears to be 
to remain among the whites and force themselves by progressive steps into 'a 
civil and social equality with them ; and it is chiefly with a view to strengthen 
themselves in these particular views and aspirations, that they band together 
under the abolition flag, and fill our cities with threats of vengeance against the 
white race if they shall dare to execute the laws in relation to fugitive slaves. 

Now, when we came to reflect calmly and candidly upon all these circum- 
stances, in connection with the question, "Is domestic slavery, as it exists at the 
South, a sin?" it seems to me that question must be answered in the negative. 
The relation of master and slave may be, and doubtless is, sometimes the occa- 
sion of cruelty and injustice. But this is also true of the relation of husband 
and wife, parent and child, master and apprentice, and of employer and em- 
ployed in our system of labour. But the abuses of a system or relation form no 
sound argument against the system or relation itself. I am no apologist for 
abuse. I am as ready as any man to denounce cruelty, unnatural separations, 
a disregard of the domestic relations, or a deprivation of the means of moral and 
religious culture to the slave, under our system of slavery, as a crime. But the 
correction of these belongs to the duties of the State Governments. We, in New 
Jersey, have no more right to interfere with South Carolina than she with us, 
in such matters; nor in fact have we in New Jersey any more right to interfere 
with the slaves of South Carolina or Georgia than we have with the slaves of 
Russia or Austria, — each Southern State being, in respect to this question, as 



76 APPENDIX E. 

absoliitolv snvoreij!;n as arc Russia and Austria. Wo are to reason ahout the 
institution of slavery as we reason ahout every other human institution, from its 
proper, humane, conscientious and hiwful use, when botli parties discharge their 
mutual ol)lij;ations. 

Having established, as I think, that domestic slavery, as it exists in the 
Southern States, is not in it<elf sinful or an unmitigated evil, this suhjeet is re- 
lieved from its greatest embarrassment; an<l now I proceed to consider : W/iat w 
the ihitji of the people of non-slare-Jioldinf/ Staics respecting Slavery? 

Shall we attempt forcibly to break down this institution of slavery ? To make 
the attempt is : — 

First. To violate the Constitution and its compromises. I care not whether 
under colour of inferential instruction — assuming the Constitution to imply the 
power of interference — (which, by-the-way, I unconditionally deny) — or acting 
regardless of it. In either case it is, at best, the appeal to the mere majority 
power, acting upon and forcing the minority. 

Second. It is to attempt tlie liberation of the slave, and fail. For by the effort 
the most we can do is to drive the South with its slaves out of the Union without 
liberating a single slave; and, 

Third. It is to compel a dissolution of the Union. Have the people considered 
the consequences implied in this branch of the alternative? Suppose, after all, 
that, in opposition to the plain teachings of the Bible ami the judgment of God's 
holiest men, they still hold that slavery is in itself .v ('«/"»/, and the owners of slaves 
are men-stealers, robbers and pirates, then, indeed, this question assumes a more 
serious aspect, and Mr. Calhoun may no hmger be denounced as either un- 
patriotic or extravagant in calling for an amendment of the Constitution, or any 
other means that will secure his constituents from imminent peril and his pos- 
terit}-^ from the calamities of civil war. But — 

Is there not, in this view, a crime of deeper and redder dye, in marching over 
a desecrated Bible and a broken compact to shed oceans of fraternal hlood? Is 
it lawful, on their own principles, to do evil that good may come — even if good 
could by it be accomplished? If they succee<l in driving the South to a secession, 
they inevitably kindle the fire of a conflagration which wilt burn over this whole 
Repuldic until it reduces to ashes the structure which Providence has for cen- 
turies been preparing and rearing up on tiiis continent; and, in the conflagra- 
tion, their own homes and hopes will be mingled with the sacrifice. 

"One great principle," says Dr. Channing, "which we should lay down as 
immovably true, is, that if a good work cannot be carried on by the cahn, self- 
controlled, benevolent spirit of Christianity', then the time for doing it has not 
come. God asks not the aid of our vices. lie can overrule them for good, but 
they are not the chosen instruments of human happiness." But if we would 
adopt, as I sincerely do, the other alternative — that with the institution of 
slaverv- as it exists in the South we have nothing to do — that we are not only 
prohibited by the Constitution from meddling with it, but that it is a question 
of conscience to be settled by Southern men for themselves — a question upon 
which good men may differ, and must be left to differ if they will, whether in 
the North or South — a new train of thoughts, a new field of benevolent and 
Christian enterprise, opens before us. Going back to the great truth from which 
we started, and regarding all the circumstances of the present state of things 
as a part of the design of Providence to accomplish a great result for Africa, 
there is a work, and a great work, for us to do. Let the great heart of Christian 
benevolence in the North and the South unite in selecting from this vast African 
family — this nursery planted and growing on our shores — the proper sulijects to 
be sent upon the mission of redemption to the land of their ancestors, until the 
last slave shall have departed, and Africa's long night shall have been dispelled 
by the sun of freedom and civilization. The philanthropist will find here 
enough to do to satisfy the largest benevolence, in acts, in personal sacrifices, 
in contributions to the cause of humanity, without the violation of personal or 
legal rights — doing good that good may come. 

Let the General Government, then, retrace its steps; and instead of provisos, 
and compromise lines, and agreements to keep up the balance of power, fall 



APPENDIX E. 77 

bfick upon the literal construction of the Constitution — adopt the principle of 
total non-iuferrenfion, now and forever — leaving the laws of nature and the voice 
of pulilic opinion to adjust the limits of the institution, free, uncontrolled, and 
uninfluenced by the action of Congress, and all will be safe. The Gordian knot 
■will be dissolved — not cut — and the ark of the covenant, with its sacred deposit, 
be borne on safely to its destination. 

The measures, in short, which I would propose, are — 

1st. A declarative act, in such form as may be deemed proper, that the Con- 
stitution gives no power to the General Government to act on the subject of 
domestic slavery, either with respect to its existence in the States, the Territo- 
ries, or the District of Columbia. 

2d. The most efBcient act that can be framed to enforce the provisions of the 
Constitution in relation to fugitive slaves. 

3d. That California, in consideration of the peculiar circumstances of her case, 
be admitted without the approval or disapproval of that part of her Constitution 
which relates to slavery. 

I believe these three positions, carried out, would settle the question forever. 
They involve no concessions — no compromise; they are no temporary expedient. 
They put the solution of the difficulty on the eternal principles of right — the 
law of the Constitution. 

I think the great majority of the North and South are prepared to place it 
there, and, having placed it there, to stand by and maintain the Union at all 
hazards. 

I feel that I have already trespassed too long on your patience. But it is a 
subject of vast importance, and I cannot close this letter without a few general 
remarks in reference to the foregoing views. 

At such a time all good men will forbear, exchange opinions, and reason in 
the spirit of conciliation. 

Conscientious differences of opinion among men will always exist in relation 
to moral questions. 

Some conscientious men believe slavery to be a sin; other conscientious men 
believe that the law of property Avhich enables one man to hold what they insist 
is the common gift of the Creator to his creatures, is sin. Again, still, other 
conscientious men hold that to take a glass of wine is sin ; and so on, through an 
endless variety of subjects. 

If these conscientious opinions, or any of them, pervade the majority, are all 
who do not hold them to be driven with fire and sword out of the Union, or 
compelled to yield their opinions, equally conscientious, to the majority'? These 
notions are inconsistent with a wise moderation ; they come from an abuse of 
reason in the first place, and a proposed abuse of power in the second. 

Such arguments are always drawn principally from the excesses of a system, 
rather than from the system itself, and there lies the error; it is the error of 
fanaticisvi , which always puts in the plea of conscience, whether it burns the 
supposed heretic at the stake, or hunts down witchcraft, or impales the Nestorian, 
or fans the flame of civil war. 

Instead of railing with infuriated declamation against a system because of 
its excesses, which are incident to every human institution, we should calmly 
and dispassionately seek to extract the truth from the general rule rather than 
from its exceptions. The system of slavery, like every human system, has its 
excesses — its exceptions from the general rule. But it is quite probable that 
there may exist in the one, as in the other, an absolute law, which is working 
out a beneficent result. If a man wishes to fall under the delusion of a uni- 
versal fanaticism, it is only necessary that he adopt the method of looking at 
the special attendants of every system to the exclusion of the general law which 
regulates tht m, and the work is done; while he is intent with some accident of 
the train, the train itself has long since passed on, leaving him to grow more 
and more inflated with conceit, indignation, unholy zeal, and misanthropic rail- 
ing, — all the natural results of so narrow-minded a procedure. Let every man 
run off with particular features out of the general cctmplexion of any subject or 
thought, and gaze at those features long enough and absorbingly enough, and 



78 ^ APPENDIX E. 

the host thinf:; witliiii tlie range of human experience will Ijecnme to him a hug- 
bear. The individual, however, who neglects the "great law of compensation" 
in judging of human affairs, has only to apply the same method of judging to 
himself; and, passing l>y his redeeming qualities and looking only at his own 
excesses and defects, he will find in himself, if he is honest in tiie search, enough 
to satiate his appetite for condemnation and hate. It is far easier to condemn 
than to judge correctly — far easier to get into a passion about a suly'ect than to 
get a comprehension of it. 

The idea that out of the institution of domestic slavery in this country is to 
spring the regeneration of Africa, derives, it seems to me, great force from the 
recurrence to past history. 

We invarialjly find that, in the dispensation of Providence, nations which have 
been called to act an important part in the work of human progress have been 
led through a long previous discipline of trial; the restraints and endurance of 
youth have preceded the power and efficiency of manhood. Primary subjection 
is the law of stable growth, and seems an indispensable condition of the advance- 
ment of our race. 

We have only to look back through a few centuries to find the evidences of 
this in the annals of our race. Our ancestors were for centuries a down-trodden, 
enslaved, and toiling people. The Anglo-Saxon race have become wliat they are 
by a long training in the school of patient endurance; in the case of England, 
under oy)pre8sive servitude to the Roman and the Xorman ; in the case of America, 
under the oppression of our mother-country and the trying discipline of Colonial 
suffering. In the life of a nation, hundreds of years may be as a day in the life 
of an individual. It is often necessar}' for many generations to pass, before a 
new influence can be made to affect the mass. If all were willing, the work of 
national preparation might be more rapid; but thousands are to be made willing, 
and by the providential adaptation of the means to the end. 

It is conceded, on all hands, that the probation of the African people now in 
bondage on our shores is to come to an end. 

That, while there is an interchange of benefits between the parties, there is at 
the same time a comnuinitY of evil, which renders it better, both for the whites 
and the blacks, that it should come to an end. 

When shall that time be? is the great question before the American people. 

In seeking an answer to this question, we may be sure there is some safer 
ground on which to take our stiaid than that of political chicane, of fanatical 
prejudice, or of any merely teni'mrary or prudential expediency. 

If slavery is to be abolished n ,v, then it is to be done in a moment. That is 
to say, at one stroke a communi'y of three millions of people, habituated to a 
certain way of life, are to be thr wn into new circumstances: — a thing plainly 
preposterous, because no kind ol society changes its customs suddenly and suc- 
ceeds in doing well. Great changes in society must come in with previous pre- 
paration, or they come in to little purpose. Seven years sufficed to tight the 
battles of the llevolution, but many more were spent in preparation for that 
event, and many more will be required to perfect its results. If Providence 
rules in the affairs of nations, the existence of slavery has some prospective 
purpose, only to be accomplished b}' prior preparation for it. 

Let us not be impatient or presumptuous. These African people are passing 
to their destiny along the same path which has been trod by other nations, 
through a mixture ot hardship, of endurance, but in a land of light and amid 
a civilized society. They are preparing to accomplish a work for tlieir native 
continent which no other people in the world can accomplish. Their plain 
mission is ultimately to carry the gifts of society, of religion, of government, 
to the last remaining continent of the earth, where these blessings are totally 
unktiown. Their work is a great one, as it would seem to be connected essen- 
tially with the final and universal triumph of civilization and Christianity in 
the world. It is our duty to follow, not to attemitt to lead in the ways and pur- 
poses of Providence. We are to move forward when the pillar of fire and cloud 
moves forward, and to rest when it rests. 

Doubtless there is a time for action; but it is characteristic of all great 



APPENDIX E. 79 

chano;es that they make known their own seasons. That time, in the present 
instance, has not yet come — for the manifest reason that the way is not yet open 
for it. When the time shall come, the way will come with it, the preparations 
for it be complete. The North settled this question easily, quietly. Surely, it 
is no great stretch of charity for us to suppose that in due time the same thing 
will be accomplished in the South. We of the North have given no peculiar 
evidence of superior goodness, that we should suppose the South not to be pos- 
sessed of as much justice, charity, and good sense, as ourselves. 

I firmly believe that the hour for the complete enfranchisement of the South- 
ern Slave will be the hour of the complete preparation for the work of African 
redemption and civilization ; and that hour will make itself known in the re- 
moval of all obstacles Jiere and there, in the preparation of the workmen and 
the work ; and I earnestly hope that guided by happier influences than seem 
now to pervade the country, the pulpit, the press, tlie people of the North and 
the South may give their thoughts and efforts to this subject in the spirit of 
Him whose mission to our earth was heralded by the proclamation of peace 
and good-will. 

With great regard, yours, 

R. F. Stocktok. 



ADDRESS 

Delivered at Ulizabeihtoion, July 4, 1851. 



Fellow-Citizens : — 

For the honour you have done me I tendei you my most cordial thanks. If 
I could have foreseen the imposing ceremonies of this morning, I should have 
thought it wise and prudent, had time permitted, to have prepared a written 
address for this occasion. As it is, all that is left to me is to do the best I can, 
and to wish that you may meet with no disappointment to-day. You have 
known me, more or less, from my youth up. You have known that my life ha& 
been rather a life of action than of words;, that I have not been educated a 
speech-maker — that I am no orator — that I J^ivenot learned the art of seductive 
eloquence. I come here for no oratorical d, oplay or effect. I come to address 
you today, because you invited me to do s. ; and because I was ambitious of 
the honour of bein^ introduced to you. It was but a few days since that I re- 
ceived your invitation, and I was more willing that my reputation as a public 
speaker should suffer, than that I should seem to be indifferent to your kindness. 
But, fellow-citizens, I bring with me that which will, perhaps, answer my pur- 
pose on this occasion better than the highest order of eloquence or the most 
elaborate preparation. I bring with me a heart full of devotion to my country 
and her institutions. I bring with me an habitual veneration for the memory 
of all our distinguished patriots who have contributed so largely to the glory 
of their country and the happiness of mankind ; especially for those good and 
fearless men who, appealing to God for the purity of their intentions, declared 
the Colonies free and independent of British rule ; and those great and incom- 
parable statesmen who framed the Constitution of the United States, and bound 
the States in one Union by the adamantine chain of Constitutional Law. 

On the 4th of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by our 
patriotic forefathers, and delivered into the hands of the people, for the benefit 
of themselves and their posterity, to the remotest generation ; and, as Mr. Adams 
predicted, the anniversary of that day has been ever since celebrated by bon- 
fires, firing of cannon, public orations, and all other manifestations of a nation's 
triumph and a nation's joy. 

19 



80 



APPENDIX E. 



FoUow-citizcns, that was no small thing clone in a corner. It was a mighty 
work, done in the broad light of day. It was no small candle hid under a 
busliel. It was a great fire built on the top of tlie mountain, to show the way 
that tiie groat Anglo-American family were taking to Ood and Liherty. It has 
been l)urning brighter and brighter, till it has illumined this continent from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, and I hope it will burn, and cotitinuc to burn 
brighter and brighter, and ascend higher and higher, until it lightens up the 
daik cavern of Terra del Fuego, and redeems even the Patagtmiau wanderer to 
liberty and civilization. 

I congratulate you, fellow-citizens, on this auspicious day, and that we are 
permitted once more to celebrate this anniversary under the broad banner of the 
Union, — under that flag whose gorgeous stripes, with its mysteriims E P/uribiis 
TJnuin, we were wont, in our boyish days, to hail with so much joy, as it waved 
from our village liberty-pole. Yes, that flag, planted on the ramparts of liberty 
by the immortal Washington, and drenched with the blood of Mercer at 
Princeton, and that liljcrty-polo, raised by our fathers and consecrated by the 
prayers of our mothers, have always been, in my mind, one and inseparable. 
What wonder that I should be a Union man? My morning matin and my 
evening lullaby were tuned to the praises of the Union; and I have lived for 
the Union, the whole Union, and nothing but the Union. I can remember no- 
thing before the Union, and I desire to know nothing and to remember nothing 
after it shall be dissolved. May the great arbiter of nations — lie who guided 
the adventurous footsteps of our pilgrim fathers to these shores, and who has 
since watched over the preservation and glory of the Republic — continue us a 
united people, henceforth and forever. 

Our lot has been cast in pleasant places, but we have fallen upon evil times. 
At the North, a fanaticism, the wildest and most indefensible that ever swayed 
the passions of men, is at work to strike down all that is valuahle upon earth 
of human liberty, in the vain and delusive expectation of reconstructing upon 
its ruins some Utopian system of beatific bliss and of the equality of the white 
and black races of men. At the South, the watcli-fires of the Revolution have 
been rekindled in the preparation for the defence of their homes and firesides. 
Groaning under the pressure of apprehended wrongs, and writhing under the 
lash of constant and reiterated insults, the men of the South are pi-eparing for 
war, in the hope of redressing their wrongs and avenging their insults by an 
appeal to the sword. Every north wind goes southward freighted with libels 
and insults, and every southern breeze bears on its wings notes of defiance and 
revenge. Thus two great principles, never before in the history of our race re- 
conciled or appeased but by blood, stand in hostile array to each other. Yet 
there are those who say that there is no danger of a conflict — no danger to the 
safety of the Union. With the thunders of secession roaring along the South- 
ern coast and the billows of insurrection breaking on the Northern shores, — 
sure presages of a storm, — they tell us there is no danger to the ship of State, 
that the sky is clear and the sea is smooth. But, fellow-citizens, be not lulled 
into fatal security by these siren voices. Take heed; be warned, by the roaring 
thunder and the forked lightning, that this may be the calm which precedes the 
tornado — the smooth and deceitful surface on the edge of the cataract. 

It must be admitted on all hands that there is great excitement among our 
people in regard to public affairs, not unmixed with a degree of apprehension 
respecting the safety of the Union. In the violence of party and sectional 
etrife, there seems to be a confusion of ideas in regard to the motives and 
objects which induced our forefathers to seek an asylum on these western shores, 
and in regard to the principles which they avowed when they first established 
the government, and none the less in relation to the teachings of the Constitu- 
tion. Instead of detaining you by a recital of the early history of the country, 
— the events of the Revolution, and the heroic achievements of the actors in that 
great drama of human effort, with which you are all familiar, — I will ask your 
attention to some of the principles upon which our political system has been 
constructed. 

Our forefathers left Europe to seek a home on this continent, to avoid religious 



APPENDIX E. 81 

persecution and despotic power, and to establish freedom of religion and civil 
liberty. It is a very important as vs-ell as an interesting fact, that, when the 
first colonists landed from the Mayflower, they had prepared a constitution for 
their gt)vernment. The sufferings and hardships arising from the climate, and 
the want of necessary supplies, were not the only difficulties with which our 
fathers had to contend ; but those which grew out of their contact with the abo- 
rigines of the country were more hazardous and distressing. I will not dwell 
upon the conflicts between the white and the red man. The story of the Indian 
is too sad and too well known to make it necessary or agreeable to dwell on the 
subject. But I must remind you that that race is fost wasting away before the 
march of civilization. I do this merely for the purpose of illustrating this prin- 
ciple, namely : — That the advancement of civil and religious liberty is so import- 
ant to the happiness of the human race, that no considerations connected with 
the temporary misfortunes of any portion of the human family can be per- 
mitted to interfere with its progress. 

No one can read the history of the Indian and fail to see that amalgamation 
with the white race was utterly impracticable, and that the only question seemed 
to be, which of the two races should suffer most in the approaching conflict. 
The result is known ; and while we may shed a tear of sorrow at the sufferings 
of the Indian, or on the ashes of his wigwam, we may at the same time thank 
our Gud that he has thus made us the instruments to forward his purposes 
towards our race. 

It must be remembered that the history of the Indian is not the only record 
of human sufferings in the cause of civil and religious liberty. Look back on 
its pathway: see it marked with national and individual sufferings, and many 
costly sacrifices; see it covered with ijlood mingled with lamentation and wo. 
But who will gainsay it? It is the fiat of omnipotent power, goodness, and 
truth, before whom every knee must bow and every tongue be silent. 

I will not detain you by noticing any of the occurrences of the intermediate 
time, but will hasten on to that period when our fathers felt themselves strong 
enough to assert their right to all those privileges of free and independent men 
which by a common heritage tliey had derived from their ancestors, and when 
they published to the world that declaration of their principles which y(m have 
just heard read. That declaration contains these great principles : — 1st. That 
all civil govei-nment is of divine origin. 2d. That evei-y nation or community 
which have united for mutual protection, and for the pursuit of happiness, have 
an inalienable right to make laws for their own government, od. That every 
nation has a rigiit to alter or amend those laws whenever they may see fit to do 
so. These appear to me to be the great principles of our Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. Now, in violation of every rule of fair criticism, there are persons 
who say that the practice of our government is inconsistent with the principles 
of the Declaration, because, while that instrument proclaims that all men are 
born free and equal, we keep in bondage a portion of the human family. It is 
an error to say that the general expression of a sentiment contained in an instru- 
ment of that kind is to control the sense of that instrument. It must be taken 
as a whole, and any single or isolated passage must be construed by the obvious 
intent and meaning of the instrument itself. It is quite obvious that the gene- 
ral expression alluded to is applicable only to men in their national and not in 
their individual chai-acter; because any other construction would be oppt)sed 
to all our knowledge of human affairs, as well as to the universal common sense 
of mankind. 

In the formation of our government the pre-existing institution of domestic 
servitude was recognised as lawful. When the Constitution of the United States 
was framed, we are informed that the convention was sitting in Philadelphia at 
the same time that the Congress of the Confederation was in session in New 
York. In some cases the same person was a member of both bodies; their pro- 
ceedings were known to each other, and the same questions were in several 
instances simultaneously discussed: and the question of slavery was tiien, as it 
is now, an exciting and absorbing subject. During the sittin;;s of these respect- 
ive bodies the ordinance of 1787, interdicting slavery in the Northwest Territory, 



82 _ APPENDIX E. 

■was passed, and with tho full knowledge of the Constitutional Convention. 
With these historical facts, it is inconceivabU^ that tlic framers of the Consti- 
tution should not have well considered the ordinance referred to, or that its 
provisions could have been omitted from the Constitution by inadvertence. But, 
on the contrary-, it is manifest tliat the framers of the Constitution refused to 
insert it, preferring to leave all the consequences of slavery, whether for good 
or for evil, exclusively with the States who saw fit to tolerate the institution. 
It was known, of course, not only by the Conventiou which formed the Consti- 
tution, but by the people who adopted it, that when it went into operation it 
became the supreme law of the laud, not to be controlled by the feelings of 
individuals, or by any act of the Congress of the Confederation. The ordinance 
of '87, so far as it respects slavery, was virtually abrogated by the adoption of 
the Constitution, because there is no authority conferred by that instrument oa 
Congress to re-enact it. I need hardly add that I am, therefore, opposed to 
the Wilmot Proviso, and all kindred measures. 

In a letter written by me last fall, declining to enter the arena of competition 
with others as a candidate for the post of senator, I expressed very naturally a 
hope that, whoever might be selected, he would be a man pledged to the Union 
and to the execution of the laws. The expression of that sentiment has pro- 
voked the most angry, bitter, and unrelenting denunciation. I have not been 
convinced, however, by any thing which has been said on the subject, that the 
sentiment then avowed was improper or not justified by the existing state of 
things. I will here repeat that I go for the Union, the whole Union, and nothing 
but the Union, and the compromises of the Constitution at all hazards, at all 
sacrifices, and in defiance of all consequences. 

I am not, fellow-citizens, in the habit of using equivocal language or ambigu- 
ous inuendoes. 1 say now that I not only considered the Union in jeopardy 
then, but that I am of opinion that it continues to be manaced by dangers immi- 
nent and formidable, and that I entertain no doubt that, unless the aggression 
of the Northern and Eastern agitators be arrested by the controlling power of 
public opinion and authority, a dissolution of the Union is still probable, to say 
the least. How can it be otherwise, if the country continues to be infected by 
intestine factions, whose criminations and recriminations shall drive its people 
to a mutual hatred, only to be appeased by blood? 

Fellow-citizens, I dislike much to speak of the dissolution of the Union. I 
loathe the term. But it may come despite of all our eflforts to avert it. There- 
fore it may be proper for me to say a word or two in anticipation of such a 
result, and for the purpose of turning the attention of my fellow-citizens to the 
course which New Jersey should take under consideration. For one, if such a 
calamity should occur, 1 hope that New Jersey, following the dictates of duty 
as well as interest, will unite for better or for worse with those who are willing 
to abide liy and respect the compacts of the Constitution. You may depend 
upon it, that no reliance is to be placed upon the faith of those who refuse to 
acknowledge the obligation of the common compact of the present Union. If a 
dissolution of the Union is inevitable, then I would prefer that the lines of --^pa- 
ration should be drawn .along the Hudson and the Lakes, rather than the Poto- 
mac and the Ohio. I have no doubt that in such an event the Northwestern 
States would unite with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the South. The 
South is their common customer; there is their market. The republic so 
constituted would have no natural repugnance to the spread of civilization 
and reformed religion over that portion of the continent which seems now 
to be but imperfectly subjected to their influence. Great Britain, while we were 
yet colonies, attempted to limit our settlements to the Alleghanies — a vain and 
fruitless attempt; and any similar policy now would be equally vain. Already 
has the Anglo-Saxon avalanche descended the western slope of the Rocky 
Mountains t<i the Pacific shores. Hitherto the impulse has been westward, and 
westward chiefiy has been the march of empire, until at last it has met resists 
ance in one of those vast oceans which cover so large an area of the globe. Re- 
bounding from the contact, it will and must naturally soon take another and 
muie southern direction. 



APPENDIX E. 83 

I am only stating what I consider the laio which governs the progress of the 
Anglo-Saxon race. I will not attempt to impeach or defend what I believe to 
be the inevitable destiny of my country and my race. But I am under no 
obligation to shut my eyes on the vista through which it reveals itself. I am 
satisfied with the limits, the grandeur, the capabilities, of my country. I justify 
no wars of aggression, no inordinate and lawless desire for extension of terri- 
tory, no infraction of treaty-stipulations, no violation of the laws of nations or 
the rights f'f man to aggrandize the Republic. With her present boundaries 
and the certain growth and development of her resources, I feel assured that 
my country, if she remains united in all her integral parts, will, within fifty 
years, acquire more wealth and power than any sovereign potentate or dominion 
which now sways or ever before swayed any portion of the destiny of mankind. 
Nevertheless, I am unwilling to say to my countrymen that you shall go no 
farther East or West, or North or South. I am unwilling that the Anglo- 
American race shall perpetually recoil from any given boundary, and that any 
portion of this continent not now in their possession shall forever be impenetra- 
ble to their civilization, enterprise, and industry. Any such exercise of authority 
would be as ineffectual as that of the Danish monarch over the Atlantic tides. 
Faithfully let us perform all our treaty stipulations with our neighbours, punish 
marauders and lawless adventurers who within our borders marshal forces in 
hostile array against a friendly power. But let us not attempt to prevent the 
peaceable progress of our countrj^men over a continent which Providence seems 
to have designed for their occupation and civilization. 

The position which would practically limit the Republic at the South, assumed 
by a great Northern statesman, for whom I have the most profound regard, and 
whose virtues and patriotism are better known to no one than myself, I cannot 
approve. That position is assumed under the plausible idea of limiting the 
area of slavery. The assumption that would not permit the admission of a State 
into the Union, without a restriction on slavery, is an aggression on the South 
which finds no warrant in the Constitution. We have as much right to say that 
the population of a State shall be all Protestants or all Catholics, as to prescribe 
the lind of lahotir to be employed by its people. We have as much right to 
force slavery upon a State as to interdict it. If the South shall obtain a 
majority in Congress, they would have as much right to introduce slavery into 
the free States, as the North have to force the Wilmot Proviso upon new States. 
There is no such power in the Constitution. That incomparable production of 
human wisdom nowhere gives authority to Congress to prescribe to an emigrant, 
going to the public lands, what kind of property he shall take with him or 
what kind of property he shall not take with him. The attempts to exercise 
any such authority can only be made in virtue of a latitudinarian construction 
of the Constitution, which would invest the General Government with unlimited 
powers. The paramount duty of the small States consists in restraining the 
General Government within its delegated limits; because, as soon as the National 
Government refuses to recognise the obligations of the Constitution, the small 
States will only hold their sovereignties by the sufferance of their neighbours. 

For these reasons, and others, I deny that the Government, or Congress, or 
the North, have any right to say that a State asking to be admitted into the 
Union shall be refused admission unless she discards from her borders a por- 
tion of the property of fifteen sister States. I have no fears of the increase of 
the slave States over the free States, no matter what their latitude or multiplica- 
tion may be. I have heretofore indicated what I believe to be the destiny of 
the African race. Whether I am right in these views or not, or whether the 
evils of slavery are such as the abolitionists represent them to be, no considera- 
tions connected with those evils, nor any growing out of the balance of power, 
will warrant a violation of the compacts of the Constitution. The Constitution 
is neutral on the subject of slavery. To make it aggressive or defensive is to 
violate it. The Union can only be preserved by a strict adherence to the Con- 
stitution. If that be violated, the bonds of the Union are broken, and the 
aggrieved parties will seek redress and compensation without regard to its 
obligations. 



84 ^^PPENDIX E. 

In cnnoliision, fcllow-citizpns, I will oxprpss tlio hope that wise and beneficent 
councils may ovorywlioro prevail — that wild fanaticism may Ije arrested in its 
mad career — tliat its fcjlly may be made manifest to all men — and that in all 
cominjj time the stripes and stars our patriot fathers followed to victory or death 
may wave, as they wave to-day, over a united people. 



Speech of 3Ir. Stockton, of New Jersey, on flogging in the Navy. 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 7, 1852. 

The memorial in relation to flogging in the Navy being before the Senate, Mr. 
Stockton said: — 

Mr. President: — The subject of this memorial, in my judgment, is equal in 
importance to any which is likely to occupy the attention of Congress. It was 
therefore, sir, that I asked the Senate, on its first presentation, to permit it to 
lie on the table for a few days, that I might have an opportunity to examine it. 
At the same time I promised the Senate, when it next came up, that I would 
express my views in relation to it. It is my purpose now to redeem that 
promise. 

Tlie memorial upon the table presents for the consideration of the Senate no- 
thing less than the wliole foundation of our naval structure, — the human 
material by which your ships are worked and fought, your guns levelled and 
their thunders pointed at your foes. Good ships, well built, well rigged, and 
fully equipped, are magnificent and perfect specimens of human science and art. 
But unless they are manned by good men they will sail only to become prizes 
to your enemies. If you do not desire to build ships for your enemies, you 
must {jive them crews worthy to defend them. Sir, the difference between 
sailors is as great as the diflPerence between other classes of diflferent nati(jng. 
There is as much difference Ijctween the American sailor in our whaling and 
coasting service and the sailors of other nations, as there is between the raw 
European emigrant and the sturdy son of one of our frontier pioneers. The 
emigrant will, in some cases, almost starve, while the pioneer is liuilding his log- 
house, enclosing his corn-field, and making himself an independent and useful 
man. 

I am of opinion that the nation whose service is supplied with the best com- 
mon sailors will excel in naval warfare, as well as in all maritime pursuits. I 
am further of opinion that in versatility, education, courage, and industr}', our 
sailors in the whaling and coasting service excel those of all other nations. I 
am furthermore of opinion that the superiority of the American s;iilor lias 
decided the battle in our fixvour in many a bloody conflict, when, without that 
superiorit}", it might have been otherwise. I desire to secure and preserve that 
superiority. To that end, and for humanity's sake, I am utterly and irrecon- 
cilably opposed to the use of the lash in the navy, or anywhere else. The 
longest, the most arduous voyages are made in the merchant service without the 
use of the lash. In the Polar seas — among the icebergs of the Arctic and Ant- 
arctic Oceans — the intrepid New Englander pursues his gigantic game and hurls 
his harpoon, and, after a three years' voyage, returns with the oily spoils of his 
adventurous navigaticm. But he owes none of his success, his patient endu- 
rance, his exemplary discipline, and his indefatigable industry', to the guardian 
ministrations of the lash. To sa}- that men wlio can make such voyages, and 
endure such hardships cheerfully and contentedly, cannot navigate their own 
national ships without the infliction of the infamous lash, is a libel. Is their 
nature changed the moment they step on the deck of a national vessel? Are 
they less men — less Americans — as soon as the custody of the American flag 
or the national honour is intrusted to their keeping? No, sir; it is a libel I 
do not mean to use the word in an offensive sense, nor shall I to-day use any 
word in that sense. It is one of those inconsiderate, thoughtless opinions, which 



APPENDIX E. 00 

mankind seem to think thej have a perfect right to express in regard to sailors. 
It -was not long since, sir, that I had a conversation on tliis suhject with a gen- 
tleman who had for several years commanded a fine ship in the merchant service, 
but who is now an honourable, active, and efficient man of business in one of 
our large cities, and to whose integrity, generosity, and humanity, I would in- 
trust anybody but a sailor. After he had heard my views on this subject, he 
instantly replied, "Why, you mean to treat them like human beings!" The 
theory that the navy cannot be governed and that our national ships cannot be 
navigated without the use of the lash, seems to me to be founded in that false 
idea that sailors are not men — not American citizens — have not the common 
feelings, sympathies, and honourable impulses, of our Anglo-American race. 

I do not wonder, when I look back on the past history of the sailor, at the 
prevalence of this idea. His life has been a life of habitual^-I will not say of 
systematic — degradation. The officers who command him — the oldest, the 
bravest, and the best — have been accustomed from their boyhood to see the 
sailor lashed about the ship's deck like a brute. He who by the laws of the 
service in which he is engaged is treated, or liable to be treated, like a brute, 
soon comes to be thought of as at least but little better than a brute. Who in 
social life respects a man whose back has been scarred at the whipping-post? 
Into what depth of contempt does such punishment sink its victim? And here 
is one of the worst evils of the system. It destroys those feelings of respect 
and kindness which officers ought to entertain for the sailors under their com- 
mand. But this is only one of the worst evils of the system. It destroys those 
feelings of regard and respect which the sailors should entertain for their officers. 
The truth is, there are no relations of affection and regard between them. The 
one is the oppressor, and the other the oppressed. Sir, a man may fear or hate ; 
but he neither loves nor respects his tyrant. The worst government upon earth 
is that of fear; the best, that of love and affection. These sentiments, by a 
law of our nature, must be mutual sentiments. Bonaparte was the idol of the 
soldier, because the soldier was his idol. They loved him because they supposed 
he loved them. There is nothing that gallant and brave men will not do and 
suffer for a commander whom they love. Difficulties and dangers and death 
have no terrors for such men. In great battles, where the contest has been 
doubtful, those soldiers have always fought most desperately whose devotion to 
their commander was the greatest. It has always been considered as an essen- 
tial element in the character of a successful commander, that he should be able 
to excite and encourage the confidence and affection of the men under his com- 
mand. But what confidence or regard can be expected under the government 
of the lash? But more than this: this punishment destroys the sailor's own 
self-respect. What has honour — what has pride — what has patriotism — to do 
with a man who may be, at the caprice of another, subjected to an infamous 
punishment, worse — ay, sir, in some cases worse a thousand times — than death? 
Can nobleness of sentiment, or an honourable pride of character, dwell with 
one whose every muscle has been made to quiver under the las7i? Can he long 
continue to love his country, whose laws degrade him to the level of a brute? 
The infamous "question" of torture now only remains as a blot on the page of 
Anglo-Saxon history. The whipping-post, where the Avorst vagrants used to 
expiate their offences, has been discarded from society. The worst offences in 
our State prisons are no longer punished by the lash. Why is all this? Why 
are those punishments now condemned as the shameful relics of a barbarous 
age? It is because the light of a better day has dawned. It is because the 
precepts of the gospel of Christianity have ameliorated our laws. It is because 
society has made the discovery that if a man is fit to live at all h^ ought not to 
be divested of all the qualities which make a man, by the infamous mutilation 
of his body. What is the answer which is given to all this by those who seek 
to restore this relic of barbarism to the navy? Why, they tell us, We intend 
only to apply this system of punishment to seamen — we intend only to flog 
sailors. That is quite true. It is only sailors who are to be treated like brutes 
— ay, sir, worse than brutes. No man who hears me would permit his dog to 
be thus treated. There is no spot on the habitable globe known to me, where a 



SG APPENDIX E. 

man would be permittoil to seize iip his dot^, and lash him until he eut the flesh 
froni his ribs and the blood should be made to run down from liis backbone to 
his heels. But, sir, it is only the sailor for whom this punishment is to be 
reserved. 

AV'ho, senators ! is the American sailor, that he is to be treated worse 
than a dog? He has been mj companion for more than a quarter of a century 
— through calm and storm, privations, sufferings, and danger. In peace and in 
war I iiave lived with him, and fought with him side by side by sea and land. 
I have seen him in the Northern Ocean, where there was no night to veil his 
deeds. I have seen him on the coast of Africa, surrounded by pestilential dis- 
ease. I have seen him among the West India Islands in chase of pirates, with 
his parched tongue hanging almost out of his mouth. I have encamped with 
him on the California mountains — and in tlie plains of the Mesa have seen 
the ravs of the morning sun pla}' on his carbine and his boarding-pike. I have 
seen him march one hundred and fifty miles through an enemy's country, over 
mountains and through rivers, with no sh(jes on but those of canvas, made by 
his own hands, and with no })rofisio)i but what he took from the enemy. I 
have seen liis feet scarified by the projecting rocks, as he hauled his cannon 
over the hills. I have seen him plunge into the Kio San Gabriel, and drag his 
guns after him in the face of a galling fire from a desperate foc. And, finally, I 
have lain beside him on the cold ground, when the ice has formed on his beard. 
Sir, his heart has beat close to my own. I ought to know him. I do know 
him. And this day— now, before the assembled Senate of the Republic — I stand 
up to speak in his behalf. I hope he will find an abler advocate. Xay, I am 
sure he will find abler advocates on this floor. But, nevertheless, hear me. 

Mr. President, the American sailors, as a class, have loved their country as 
well, and have done more for her in peace and war, than any other equal num- 
ber of citizens. Passing by for a moment their antecedent glorious achieve- 
ments, let me remind you that he has recently gained for his country an empire. 
Through perils by land and perils by water he has gained a golden empire, 
which has added to his country's renown and greatness, and perhaps saved his 
fellow-citi/.cns from almost universal bankruptcy and ruin. And what has his 
country done for him? When the fighting was over, the battles won, the con- 
quest achieved, j-ou sent a band of INIormons to California to drive him to his 
ship and rol) him of his glor^-, — and historians, too, to prove once more that 
history is a lie. You refused to give him " bountj' lands," which you gave to 
the soldier, — his comrade fighting by his side ; and you have neglected to give 
him even your thanks. And now, to cap the climax of his country's ingrati- 
tude, these memorialists would have him scourged. They would scourge him 
for drunkenness, when they put the bottle to his mouth. They would scourge 
him for inattention to his duty, when injustice and wrong have made him for 
an instant discontented and sullen. Shame ! Shame ! You would scourge him 
■while living, and when dead consign him to a felon's grave. Tliat I may not 
be supposed to have drawn upon my fancy, or to have exaggerated his country's 
inhumanity, I ask the Secretary of the Senate to read these documents. 

The Secretary read them, as follows : — 

" To the Honourable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled: 

"The undersigned. President and Trustees of the Boston Marine Society, of 
the city of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, beg leave to represent to 
your honourable bodies that, having had their attention for many years directed 
to the condition of seamen, abroad and at home, they have been much impressed 
with the fact of the sufferings of this valuable class of our citizens by sickness 
and accidents, and from poverty arising from these circumstances, connected 
with tlieir proverbial improvidence for the future, with their pecuniary means. 

" The benefits of medical aid and comfort in foreign ports enjoyed by others 
are hardly ever obtained by them, and, in consequence, after receiving su-ch 
comforts and attentions as the ships they are attached to and their officers can 
give, they are frequently brought home and placed in our marine hospitals, 



APPENDIX E. bi 

where no seaman can remain beyond the time limited by the laws regulating 
those institutions. 

"It is very often the case that they are dismissed from these hospitals when 
not sufficiently restored to render them fit for tlieir active service, and, in conse- 
quence, tliey become paupers or tenants of public almshouses, though most of 
them would rather die than suffer this degradation. 

" It is well known to all observant of seamen, that they are always ready to 
answer the call for their services, whether it be in the service of the naval or of 
the mercantile marine — as ready to fight with valour for their country as to aid 
in its commerce ; and so true is this, that very few seamen advanced in years 
can be found who have not served in both our public and private ships. 

" Your attention is respectfully called to the fact that there is at this moment 
in the public treasury, as your memorialists have been informed, money to the 
credit of seamen who have been attached to the government marine and to the 
mercantile marine, amounting to more than a million of dollars. 

" This large amount has accrued from unclaimed sums due to deceased seamen, 
from unclaimed prize-money belonging to seamen of private as well as public 
armed vessels, and to the contributions made by all seamen of twenty cents per 
month in the name of hospital-money. 

" In view of these facts, your memorialists beg leave to solicit from your ho- 
nourable bodies that measures may be taken to ascertain the amount accumu- 
lated from these sources in the United States Treasury, and that therefrom 
suitable provision may be made in the principal seaports in the United States 
for the further maintenance of seamen, citizens of the United States, who are 
infirm and unfit for service, from sickness, advanced age, or any other cause. 
All which is respectfully submitted. 

" President and Trustees, B. M. S." 

" Z. Ring, Esq. — Dear Sir : — I herewith furnish you with the information de- 
sired. During the year 1850 there were one hundred and six deaths of seamen ; 
of Avhich number forty-five were buried by friends ; the balance (sixty-one) were 
taken by the Almshouse to Potters' field ; for the latter class the Government 
allow us $5 each — ($3 for coffin, and §2 for ground.) 
" Not one in ten have money to provide for themselves, 
" Very respectfully, 

" John L. Roome, 
" Superintendent of the City Hospital, N. Y." 

Potters' Field. — The grand jury for the September term examined two hun- 
dred and seventy-six complaints, and found one hundred and thirty-three bills 
of indictment. They visited the various public institutions, but made no pre- 
sentment. Previous to being discharged by the court, the foreman, Henry 
Erben, Esq., at the request of the grand inquest, stated to the court that the 
jury had visited Potters' Field, and found it in a horrible condition. One pit 
was about half-filled. The coffins were exposed to the sun. The stench from 
them was very great. They directed Mr. Webb, the keeper, to ccnne before 
the grand jury on the following day. On the 19th he made the following affi- 
davit : — 

" Grand Jury Room, September 19, 1851. 

"William 0. "Webb, being duly sworn, saith, that he is the keeper of Potters' 
Field ; that the gruund on Randall's Island, used for a burying-place, is not at 
all suited for it; that it is full of rocks ; pits are dug for the dead, M-here they 
are put in layers of six deep. The bottom of the pits being solid ruck, when 
decomposition takes place, the liquid not being able to go in the ground, passes 
through the top, causing a horrible stench, which can be smelled for more than 
a mile. 

"There is no earth between the layers of coffins, and there are only about 
eighteen inches of earth over the top layer of coffins ; that it frequently liappens 
that at high tides and heavy rains the water gets into the pits, so that the 



88 ^APPENDIX E. 

coflBns arc floatinfi;. He furtlior saith that in less tlian three weeks there •will be 
Du ruom left in the yard to l)ury anotlier person. He also states that the south 
end of Ward's Island is a suitable place for a Potters' Field, the soil being good 
and free from rock. 

" Sworn this 19th day of September, 1851. 

" IIenry Erben, Foreman." 

Mr. Stockton. — Mr. President, to whom in time of peace are intrusted the 
lives of the thousands who traverse the ocean? Whose enerj^y and skill, and 
hard}-, self-denying toil, carry the products of your soil through the world, and 
bring back the rich return? It is the American sailor. By his superior quali- 
ties as a man, he has enabled you to rival in commerce the boasted mistress of 
the ocean. Where is the coast or harbour in the wide world accessible to hu- 
man enterprise to which he has not carried your flag? His berth is no sine- 
cure. His service is no easy service. He is necessarily an isolated being; he 
knows no comforts of home and wife and children. He reaps no golden re- 
wards for the increase of treasure wliich he brings to you. When on shore, he 
is among strangers and friendless. When worn out, he is scarcely provided for. 
Making many rich, he lives and dies poor; carrying the arts of civilization and 
the blessings of the gospel through the world, he is treated as an (»utcast from 
the mercies of both. But look to your histor}- — that part of it which the world 
knows by heart — and you will find on its brightest page the glorious achieve- 
ments of the American sailor. Whatever his country has done to disgrace him 
and break his spirit, he has never disgraced her; he has always been ready to 
serve her ; he always has served her faithfully and effectually. He has oftea 
been weighed in the balance, and never found Avanting. The only fault ever 
found with him is that he sometimes fights ahead of his orders. The world 
has no match for him, man for man ; and he asks no odds, and he cares for no 
odds, when the cause of humanity or the glory of his country calls him to fight. 
Who, in the darkest days of our Picvolution, carried your flag into the very 
chops of the British Channel, bearded the lion in his den, and woke the echoes 
of old Albion's hills by the tiiunders of his cannon and tlie shouts of triumph? 
It was the American sailor. And the names of John Paul Jones and the Bon 
Homme liithard will go down the annals of time forever. Who struck the first 
blow that humbled the Barbary flag, which for a hundred years had been the 
terror of Ciiristendom, drove it from the Mediterranean, and put an end to the 
infiimous tribute it had been accustomed to extort? It was the American 
Bailor. And the name of Decatur and his gallant companions will be as lasting 
as monumental brass. 

In your war of 1812, when j'our arms on shore were covered by disaster — 
•when Wincli(!ster had been defeated — when the army of the Northwest had sur- 
rendered, and when the gloom of despondency hung like a cloud over the land, 
•who first relit the fires of national glory and made the welkin ring with the 
shouts of victory? It was the American sailor. And the names of Hull and 
the Constitution will be remembered as long as we have left any thing worth 
remembering. That was no small event. The wand of ^lexican prowess was 
broken on tlie Rio Grande. The wand of British invinciiiility was broken when 
the flag of the Guerricre came down. That one event was worth more to the 
Republic than all the money which has ever been expended for the navy. 
Since that day the navy has had no stain upon its escutcheon, but has been 
cherished as your pride and glorj-. And the American sailor has established a 
reputation throughout the world — in peace and in war, in storm and in battle — 
for unsurpassed heroism and prowess. 

Mr. President, I am no painter. I cannot draw with artistical skill the scene 
I Would have you look upon. But it recjuiros no artist. Picture it to yourself, 
sir. See the gallant, bold sailor who has served his ai)prenticeship with Hull 
in the Constitution, or one who helped to drag the guns across the San Gabriel, 
stripped, and lashed worse than a dog. Can you stand it, sir? Yet ynur laws 
have auihurized it to be done — it probably has been done. And now it is pro- 
posed to give authority to do it again. Will the American |)eople stand it ? 



APPENDIX E. 89 

Will this more than Roman Senate long; debate whether an American citizen, as 
he is — the sailor — shall be entitled to all his rights as an American citizen or 
not ; whether, freeman as he is, he shall be scoui'ged like a slave ? Cicero's 
climacteric, in his speech against Verres, is, that though a Roman citizen, his 
client had been scourged. And shall an American citizen be scourged? For- 
bid it, God of humanity, forbid it ! For my own part, I would rather see the 
navy abolished, and the stars and stripes buried with their glory in the depths 
of the ocean, than that those who won its glories should be subjected to a punish- 
ment so ignominious and brutalizing. Sir, if I had the power vouchsafed to 
others, to impress my own feelings upon the hearts of those who hear me, I 
"would rouse in the minds of senators such a sense of national pride and huuian 
sympathy that they would with one voice demand that the memorial which 
seeks to rob the American sailor of his rights as an American freeman should 
be thrown under your table and trampled beneath your feet. 

Mr. President, the object of all our legislation for our seamen should be to 
elevate them as a class, and not to degrade them. In proportion as you do this, 
and teach the sailor to respect himself, you will bring him to the performance 
of his duty with cheerfulness and akicrity. You best appeal to his patriotism 
by showing him that he is honoured and respected by his country. You best 
appeal to his sentiment of native pride by presenting motives to his emulation. 
You can do infinitely more with him by rewarding him for his fivithfulness than 
by flogging him for his delinquencies. Whatever the peculiarities of the sailor 
may be, he is still a man, with all the impulses, wishes, and hopes of a man. 
And, if there is one trait more peculiar to him than another, it is the sentiment 
of gratitude. He never forgets a kindness, and would take iiis heart out of his 
bosom, if he could, to save a friend. Let him only see that he is honoured and 
respected by his country, and her honour and interest will always be safe in his 
hands. 

I believe that many of the officers of the navy have fallen into the error of 
supposing that sailors are more influenced by their fears than by their affections. 
They do not rightly appreciate his character. If they would take more pains 
to think for him, to keep him out of temptation, to attend to his wants, to see 
that he was fairly and justly dealt by, and properly to consider the fair allow- 
ance which ought to be made for him, they Avould find it much less difficult to 
enforce discipline, to gain his confidence, and find him much more tractable. 
It is not by the severity of discipline as much as it is by a firm, just, and gene- 
rous government, that he is to be controlled. It is so among men everywiiere. 
It is rather by humane and judicious laws, than by the severity of penal enact- 
ments, that good government is established and maintained. Again : in the 
training and governing those men who are to fight your battles and face every 
danger with courage, their fear should seldom be appealed to. You ought not 
to cultivate the emotions which make men cowards and teach them habitually 
to shrink from the fear of personal suffering. You ought rather to tench them 
to despise all honourable suffering. True heroism is an intellectual quality. It 
is moral intrepidity that makes the man of true and relialile courage. And 
this can only co-exist with a proper sense of personal honour and self-respect. 
Degrade a man by an infamous punishment, which destroys his personal honour 
and self-respect, and you do all that human ingenuity can to make him 
cowardly. 

But it is said that the navy cannot be governed without the lash. As a gene- 
ral proposition, I express my utter dissent to it. I admit that among sailors, as 
among other classes, there will always be found aome who are vicious and 
troublesome. That is the case in the army as well as in the navy; and they 
have abolished the lash in the army. It is as easy to get other and less offensive 
punishments for the navy as for the army; and, if those punishments will not 
answer, the refractory person had better be driven in disgrace from the navy. 
He is not fit to be trusted in the h(mr of peril; he is unworthy to have the honour 
of the flag confided to him. Sufficient inducements should be offered to the 
better classes to enter the navy; and a part of those inducements should always 
be good treatment. A free use of the lash — ^nay, its probable use, its permission 



00 ^APPENDIX E. 

by law — has always beon an objection urged by the better classes to entering 
the navy. 'I'liey prefer the merchant service, where they can at least select their 
own commander, while in the navy they know not into whose hands they may 
fall. Thus you see that the very necessity which is pleaded creates, in a great 
degree, the circumstances out of which it is supposed to spring. You flog 
because tiiere are bad men in the navy, and the fact that you do flog excludes 
the better class of sailors from entering the service; so that the mischief is self- 
perpetuating. But again, it is said that a largi* majority of the officers of the 
navy are of opinion that the lash is necessary and indispensal)le. 

"Weil, there are differences of opinion about it. We all know, however, that 
old notions and qpinions are hard to be rooted out, and that men are very apt 
to love arbitrary power when they are to exercise it and not he subject to it. 
All history shows this, and the experience of all reformers confirms it. Lord 
Dennnin, late Chief-Justice of England, in a letter on the suliject of legal 
reform, complains that everywhere he met the objection that the judges were 
opposed to it. And Lord Brougham, in a speech delivered in Parliament on the 
same subject, expresses a similar sentiment. Yet it was not long before the judges 
and the bar and the people concurred in opinion as to the beneficial effects of 
the same reforms. It would seem, sir, that it is a part of man's nature to yield 
with great reluctance the smallest atom of power with which he may Ite invested. 
lie is unwilling to aduiit that he can abuse it. Its safest depository, he considers, 
is his own hands. For these and similar reasons, I think that the ojiinion of the 
officers (d' the navy on this subject should be taken with many grains of allow- 
ance. I find no fault with the independent expression of their opinions. It is 
the opinion itself which I propose to combat. Their argument is as brief as it 
seems to some minds formidable. They declare the lash to be necessary and 
indispensable. If they are right in this opinion, there is an end to the matter. 
Necessitj' has no law. But I l)eg leave to inquire into this alleged necessity. 

And first, I ask for what offences has this lash been so freely used? Has it 
been inflicted for serious or atrocious crimes, which involve the honour of our 
flag or the safety of our national vessels? Or rather, let me ask, has it not 
been inflicted for offences which, if they had been entirely overlooked, would 
not have injured the proper discipline of the navy? Has the lash ever been 
used in the hour of battle or in that of preparation for a battle? Is it reason- 
able to suppose that a coward or traitor would face a cannon-ball to av(.)id the 
lash? It would seem, then, without multiplying words, that, so far from the 
lash being necessary for the maintenance of discipline in the most important 
duty of a ship-of-war, it never has been and never will be used. How is it, 
then, in regard to the most important matter concerning the discipline of a maa- 
of-war? Has it ever been used for the suppression of mutiny? No, sir; the 
law has provided for that offence, as well as for cowardice, the ]iunislunent of 
death. Having thus briefly stated what tiie lash has not been used for, let me 
inquire, what are the offtMices for which it is deemed so absolutely necessary ? 
We may derive some inforniati(jn in this particular from the pulilished reports 
of the offences and punishments which have actually occurred on board our 
ships-of-war. By reference to the report of the Secretary of the Navy on this 
subject, you will perceive that one of the offences for which it has been used 
is that of suspicion of theft. One would hardly say it was either necessary or 
proper in that case. The offence for which, however, there seems to have been 
more lashes inflicted than for all other offences, is that of drunkenness. 
Now, sir, the Government furnishes the liquor for the sailor, and if he gets 
drunk upon his allowance the Government itself is responsible, and the sailor 
ought not to be flogged. If he procures it on board of a ship by theft or bar- 
gain, it is evidence of a laxity of discipline, for which others are responsible, 
and for which the sailor ought not to be flogged. The lash, therefore, is not 
necessary to prevent drunkenness, not only for the reasons just stated, but 
because it must be universally admitted that it never has and never can prevent 
the offence of drunkenness, if he who is habituated to it is permitted to have 
liquor. 

The offence of disobedience of orders will be found frequently in this report. 



APPENDIX E. 91 

But we are not informed of the precise nature of the offence. Whether it is 
actual or constructive disobedience of orders; whether it is a serious or trifling 
matter; whether it is fur accidentally spitting on the deck, or neglecting to 
clean the bright-works of a ship, or not mending his clothes, or leaving his bag 
on deck; or whether it was a positive refusal to do his duty. We are, therefore, 
left to infer its seriousness by the punishment inflicted for it. I will hazard the 
opinion, judging by that standard, that stopping the offender's allowance of 
tobacco, or rum, tea, sugar, and coffee, would have been, in every case, a much 
more reasonable and a more efficient punishment. And now, sir, what has 
become of this plea of necessity, — I will not call it in this connection the tyrant's 
plea ; the officers of the navy do not deserve such a reproach from any one, and 
especially from myself, because I did, when in the service, execute and permit to 
be executed the law of the lash, as I hope I did all other laws of the service, 
which I had sworn to obey and to enforce. And this should be a sufficient 
answer to those who expect to escape from the grasp of argument and facts by 
indulging in individual recrimination, and will be sufficient to remind them that 
there is some difference in the position of those who are called upon to make the 
laws and those whose duty it is to execute them. 

The officers of the navy, in my judgment, are entitled to high commendation. 
They are, as a class, noble, brave, generous, and patriotic men ; and in all the ele- 
ments of character which constitute valuable public servants, they have no supe- 
riors. But, however much respect I may entertain for them as a class, it is my 
duty, which I shall endeavour to perform, to deal without reserve or false deli- 
cacy with their arguments, and the errors which disgrace and paralyze the 
service to which they belong. It does appear to me, Mr. President, that the 
argument, from necessity, has resolved itself simply into this: That the lash is 
an easy and short way to settle a trifling difficulty with a sailor. And so were 
the thumb-screw and the rack an easy and short way to get a confession, and 
the Inquisition settled matters of faith easily and readily. But, sir, there has 
been a great change in the opinions of mankind on this subject, and I hope the 
change will go on until the last relic of barbarism shall be banished from the 
world. 

But I care very little for the details of this argument, and will not detain the 
Senate any longer in relation to them. Thei-e is one broad pi-oposition upon 
which I stand. It is this: That an American sailor is an American citizen, 
and that no American citizen shall, with my consent, be subjected to this infa- 
mous punishment. Placing myself upon this proposition, I am prepared for 
any consequences. I love the navy. A\'hen I speak of the navy, I mean the 
sailor as well as the officer. They are all my fellow-citizens, and yours; a.nd, 
come what may, my voice will ever be raised against a punishment which de- 
grades my countrymen to the level of a brute, and destroys all that is worth 
living for, — personal honour and self-respect. 

Mr. President, reference has been made by these memorialists to the example 
of the British Government. With what propriety such an appeal is made by 
the citizens of a free republican Government to the institutions of monarchy, let 
others determine. But, sir, I am not aware that the British Parliament has 
ever by statute expressly authorised the use of the lash. There is no doubt 
that it is used in the navy of Great Britain, and has been so used since the 
restoration of the monarchy under the Stuarts ; but there is no evidence that 
the practice of flogging prevailed in the republican fleets of the English Com- 
monwealth ; and it is doubted by the best authorities that it ever was tcderated 
prior to the act of 13th Charles II. We have copied it from their practice, and 
not from their statute-book. But our Congress did what no British Parliament 
ever did ; they sanctioned it in express terms by the laws of the United States. 
And here, Mr. President, you must permit me to call the attention of the Senate 
to a most singular fact, which is this: — Our law of April, 1800, was principally 
copied from the statute of Cliarles II., and is openly and avowedly more severe 
and arbitrary than the British act, even under the Stuarts, and has remained so 
until last year, although flogging, as a punishment, was tolerated during the 
whole of that time, and up to the present moment, on land in England. 



92 APPENDIX E. 

The net of Cliarlos TT. alluded to was passed wlien the Diike of York, after- 
wards James II., was Lord llij^h- Admiral uf Enirland, and may be supposed to 
have ])een done at his instance. The Englisli historian, the Earl of Clarendon, 
tells us that when that prince entered on his duties he found the navy too re- 
publican for his taste or purposes, and set about reorganizing it by getting rid 
of the republican officers. In pursuance of this policy, he procured the pas- 
sage of the act of 13th Charles II. Although that act does not, in express 
terms, authorize the use of the lash, yet, by virtue of a clause contained in it, 
the Lord High-Admiral, or the commissioners for executing his duties, issued 
instiautinns authorizing the use of the lash in tlic British navy; ami certainly 
it may be cited to justify any tyranny. I would not have noticed the reference 
of the memorialists to the practice in the British navy, but that I desire, on 
this subject, not to leave a peg to hang a doubt upon. But, sir, the example of 
the British Government, such as it is, is no justification for the United States, 
The infliction of corporal punishment for certain offences has always, as far as 
I know, been sanctioned by Biitisii laws. The sailor in the Britisli navy re- 
ceives the same punishment that is inflicted upon landsmen in England ; where- 
as, in the United States, it lias been almost universally abolished, and certainly 
has never been sanctioned by the laws of the United States, except in the army 
and navy. Justification it has none; and if palliation is to be looked for it 
could only be found in its infliction by the judgment of the sailor's peers. But 
the trial by jury is unknown to the naval service. Those great conservative 
safeguards, so dear to freemen — the arraignment and trial before a jury of his 
peers indifferently selected, counsel and defence — are unknown to the cvery-day 
discipline of a man-of-war. Much less has the sailor any appeal. The process 
by which he is tried is a short process, and the punishment follows immediately 
on judgment. Where the power to punish is so absolute, the law should at least 
prtjtect its victim from an infamous punishment for a petty offence, which may 
disgrace and ruin him for life. If, when a citizen enters into the service of his 
country, he is to f )rego the protection of those laws for the preservation of which 
he is willing to risk his life, he is entitled, in all justice, humanity, and grati- 
tude, to all the protection that can be extended to him in his peculiar circum- 
stances, lie ought cfirtainly to be protected from the infliction of a punish- 
ment whicii stanils condemned by tiie almost universal sentiment of his fellow- 
citizens, — a punishment which is proscrilied in the best prison-government ; pro- 
scribed in the school-house, and proscribed in the best government on earth — 
that of parental domestic affection. Yes, sir, expelled from the social circle, 
from the school-house, the prison-house, and the army, it finds defenders and 
champions nowhere but in the navy. To say that no laws can be devised for the 
government of the navy which do not tolerate the lash is an acknowledgment 
of imbei'ility which this Senate will never make. 

The difficulty in regard to tliis matter has been that, in framing .articles for 
the government of tiie navy, three things have been overlooked which ought 
never to be lost sight of. First, that an American sailor is an American citizen 
and a freeman, though in the service of his country. Second, that he has yielded 
no legal right not inconsisttMit with his obligations of duty. -Third, tliat naval 
officers are not infallihle, and re(iuire as stringent regulations for their govern- 
ment as other citizens invested with authority. 

And now, Mr. President, I come to the discussion of a part of this subject far 
from being agreeable. Why is it that naval officers, and even some seamen, as 
I am told, desire to have the lash restored to the navy? It is a symptom of 
unfavourable augury. It is an indication that the moral standard by which 
the navy is estimated is low and degraded. It argues a preference for the exer- 
cise of arbitrary power, rather than appeal to those feelings of respiM^t and sen- 
timents of honour which should influence tlie conduct of honourable men 
towards each other in the service of tlnnr country. 

The great M^ ntesquieu has said th it, while virtue was the principle of a re- 
public, honour was tliat of a monarchy. Now the actual government, in peace 
or war, in your military and naval service, is necessarily, in sonie degree, mo- 
narchical. Within the limits of his command, and in reference to those imme- 



APPENDIX E. 93 

diately snbjeot to him, the captain, the colonel, the o;eneral, or the commander 
of a ship-of-war, is a sovereign — a monarch ; and I hold that honour is the 
principle on which the government of his subordinates should be founded. Tell 
me not that a sailor's heart is insensible to the dictates of honour. I know het- 
ter. It is there. It may, indeed, slumber and remain passive, and be almost 
extinguished by sullen revenge or bitter hatred ; yet there it is, as real and in 
as perfect existence as in your breast or mine. By proper appeals to it — by 
generous treatment — by manly and discriminating excitement — ^^it kindles into 
activity and becomes the supreme arbiter of the sailor's life and conduct. Sir, 
if the officers would only believe in the existence of this sentiment of honour, 
and appeal to it as an instrument for the preservation of discipline, we should 
not be asked to restore the lash. A requisition for the lash proceeds on the 
supposition that there is no honour in a common sailor. Now, so far from that 
dogma having any foundation in fact, it must be known to all who appreciate 
the character of a true-hearted sailor that honour is almost the only principle 
by which nine-tenths of them are governed. When an unsuccessful appeal ia 
made to the honour of a sailor, it is not because he is destitute of the principle, 
but because the appeal has not been properly made. 

In the view I take of the subject, then, the argument derived from a low and 
degraded estimate of the navy is unfounded in any of the characteristics be- 
longing to the common sailor. Has it any foundation in the incapacity of the 
officers to excite and cultivate those feelings of honour in a sailor which make 
him obedient and tractable? I hope not. If there be any such they should 
not be intrusted with any command ; theij are destitute of the fixculty of com- 
manding; thet/ have not the necessary qualification ; thei/ are not safe deposita- 
ries for such absolute power or for the security of our public ships. How can 
they rouse the sailor's sense of honour in time of battle who have proved them- 
selves incapable of believing in its existence at all other times? I apprehend, 
if the i-estoration of the lash be made to hinge upon the question whether the 
sailor is destitute of honour or the officers of capacity to successfully appeal to 
that honour, that we should not be troubled with many importunate demands 
for its restoration. If the desire to restore the lash to the navy is evidence that 
the standard by which the navy is judged is low and degraded, it is also evi- 
dence, to my mind, that the navy has not kept pace with the moral improve- 
ment of the age. If it be the general opinion in the navy that the lash is ne- 
cessary and indispensable for the preservation of discipline, then, I say, we are 
now just where public sentiment stood in 16G0, during the infamous reign of 
Charles II. Then the thumb-screw and the rack were in vogue, too. And, if 
we are to go back to the lash, I do not see why we should not retrograde like- 
wise to the boot, the rack, and the torture. What would be thought of the man 
who would propose to introduce into our penal code those horrible and barba- 
rous punishments of which I have spoken? what would be thought of the 
civilized community who would approve such a proposition and re-enact punish- 
ments in vogue three hundred years ago ? Yet the proposition to restore the 
lash is of a similar character. It takes for granted that the sailor has remained 
stationary ever since the rack, the thumb-screw, and the boot were abolished as 
part of the criminal law of civilized nations ; it takes for granted that of all the 
light which has irradiated the human mind during the progress of the world 
none of it has been poured on the understanding of the sailor ; that he alone 
has remained stationary ; that he alone has remained ignorant and incapable 
of improvement ; that he alone is doomed to remain the victim of injustice and 
cruelty. Look, sir, through the various pursuits of human life, and wherever 
your eyes rest you find that improvement has advanced with giant strides ; 
you find that it has elevated and enlightened the ploughman in his field — the 
mechanic in his workshop — the merchant — the professional man — the daily 
labourer — all have felt the benign influences of improved civilization. If the 
sailor has not felt it in an equal degree with other classes, it is because you 
have degraded and abused him by treatment from which other classes have 
compelled you to relieve them. His voice has not been heard, like that of other 
classes, in the halls of legislation. He has no renresentative in such places ; he 



04 ^APPENDIX E. 

■wields no political influence; he has no residence; his doniicil is on the ship. 
If the interests of the sailor had received a tithe of the attention bestowed by 
lei^islators on the interests of other classes, we should not now be discussing 
the (juestiDn whether or not he should be remanded to tlie tender mercies of 
these penal atrocities, from which the progress of modern improvement has 
relieved all other denominations of men ; we should not now be discussing the 
qupstiiin whether he should be treated like a man or a brute. 

Mr. President, a word or two more and I am done. We hear a great deal of 
the delinquencies of sailors. There are delinquencies of officers as well as of 
sailors. There are officer-s in the navy as well as sailors who ought not to be 
there. If you desire to prepare the navy for the exigencies of war — if you 
desire to preserve your ancient renown as a naval power — you must, in my judg- 
ment, abolish the lash and adopt a system of rewards and punishments in its 
stead ; you must abolish the liquor ration ; you must alter the wliole system of 
the recruiting service ; in one word, you must purge the navy of all its foul 
stuff in high places as well as low places; and you must lay broad and deep 
the foundation of your naval greatness in the character of the common s.\ilor. 
The bone and sinew of every navy is the common sailor. You require the 
commanding intellect of scientific officers to direct him, and you require 
good ships. But, after all, the common sailor is the working power which 
enables the captain and the ship to gain laurels. 'Tis the sailor who works 
and sails and fights the ship ; and in proportion as he is superior or inferior 
will be the success of the captain and the ship. Sir, in all the best traits 
of character which distinguish sailors no nation excels the United States. The 
American sailor is bold, intelligent, hardy, and enterprising, and in nautical 
skill is unsurpassed. He shrinks from no danger, he dreads no foe, and yields 
to no superior. No shoals are too dangerous, no seas too boisterous, no cli- 
mate too rigorous, for him. The burning sun of the tropics cannot make him 
effeminate, nor can the eternal winter of the polar seas paralyze his energies, 
Foster, cherish, develop these characteristics by a generous and paternal govern- 
ment. Pjxcite his emulation and stimulate his ambition by rewards. But, above 
all, save him, save him from the brutalizing lash, and inspire him with love and 
confidence for your service ; and then there is no achievement so arduous, no 
conflict so desperate, in which his actions will not shed glory upon his country. 
And, when the final struggle comes, as soon it will come, for the empire of the 
seas, you may rest with entire confidence that victory will be yours. 

I move you, sir, that it is inexpedient to grant the prayer of the petitioners. 



Remarks of Hon. R. F. Stockton, of New Jersey, upon non- 
intervention. 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 2, 1852. 

Mr. President : — I hold in my hand a series of resolutions passed by the 
Legislature of the State of New Jersey, and which by their authority have been 
transmitted to me. I ask that they may be read and printed. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows : — 

"joint resolutions in relation to governor KOSSUTH and the doctrine op 
national non-intervention. 

"Whereas, Louis Kossuth, Governor of Hungary, exiled from his country 
because he made a gallant but unsuccessful struggle for his country's rights, 
has come to the United States, an invitoii guest of the nation : 

" 1. lie it Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, 
That Louis Kossuth be invited to visit this Legislature at its present session, 
that we may extend to him the hospitality of the State, and assure him of our 
sympathy. 

'•2. Be it Resolved, That in Louis Kossuth we recognise a true patriot, and the 
able and eloquent expounder of constitutional rights and liberties; that we 



APPENDIX E. 95 

eympathize with him and his countrymen in the calamities which have befallen 
their fatlierland ; that we deeply deplore that the recent glorious struggle for 
the freedom of Hungary was rendt3red unsuccessful by the treason of their 
general, and the arnu'd intervention of Eu^^sia, contrary to the pi inciples of 
justice and international law ; and that we trust, hy the blessings of Divine Pro- 
vidence, that all his future efforts in the cause of his country may be crowned 
with success, and that the people of Hungary, now dispersed or down-trodden, 
may be restored to freedom and happiness, under the protecting care of a con- 
stitutional government, erected by themselves. 

"3. And be it Resolved, That every nation has a right to alter, modify, abolish, 
or adopt its own form of government, and regulate its own internal affairs, and 
that an armed intervention of any other nation to control or destroy this right 
is an infraction of international law. 

" 4. And he it Resolved, That the supremacy of the non-intervention law, 
acknowledged by all nations, would tend to maintain national rights, prevent 
national wars, and give a lasting peace to the world. 

"5. And he ii Resolved, That our Senators and Representatives in Congress be 
requested to obtain the passage of a resolution by Congress, instructing the 
representatives of the United States to the Governments of Europe to urge upon 
those Governments a declaration that the forcible intervention of one nation to 
regulate the internal affairs, or to alter, nrodify, abolish, or prescribe the form 
of government, of another nation, is an infraction of the law of nations. 

"0. And he it Resolved, That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy of 
these Resolutions to the President of the United States, to Louis Kossuth, and 
to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress." 

Mr. Stockton. — Mr. President, no one need doubt my regard for the old 
Democratic principle, that the representative is bound by the will of his con- 
stituents. No one need doubt tiie profound respect which any expression of 
opinion by the Legislature of New Jersey will command from me. I know no 
higher honour than faithfully to represent my native State. I can enjoy no 
higher satisfaction than to feel that I merit her approval. My ambition in the 
discharge of my duties here is to promote her interests. In doing that, I know 
that I shall promote the welfare of our whole country. 

Sir, I execi-ate the oppressors of poor Hungary, and cordially sympathize 
with the Legislature and people of New Jersey in her sufferings. I am as desi- 
rous for her independence and the extension of human liberty as any of my 
fellow-citizens. Nevertheless, I am constrained to say that, while I agree to 
every sentiment of freedom and love of liberty contained in the resolutions 
which you have just heard read, I do not entirely concur in the principles of 
public law by which the object they have in view is sought to be obtained. I 
will, therefore, with the Senate's leave, proceed to state, in a few brief remarks, 
the grounds of my opinion, what, in my judgment, are the responsibilities of 
this Government, and the course we ought to take in regard to our foreign rela- 
tions. The course suggested by the resolutions is not precisely the one preferred 
by me. They do not avow the principles which this Government ought to assert 
and maintain, which the United States always has asserted, and wliich I hope 
she will continue to assert as long as there is a single despotic Government 
existing whose people rise to demand the blessings of liberty. 

Sir, when we cast our eyes over the world, everywhere, with the exception of 
America, we see the surface of the whole earth appropriated by absolute mon- 
archs. The only country which enjoys Republican Government, and whose 
people adequately appreciate free institutions, is the United States. Those free 
institutions comprehend all that survives of free principles and political liberty. 
In them is concentrated all that is valuable of what man has ever achieved in 
qualifying himself for self-government. 

The Mosaic Republic — Rome and her Empire — the transitory commonwealths 
of Italy and Germany, which heralded tlie revival of learning — all stand as 
beacon-lights to warn and instruct us. All that is of value in the institutions 
of the Great Alfred or Modern Britain is ours — improved, perfected, and divested 

20 



06 APPENDIX E. 

of cvory olompnt which can intorfi-re with or enfooble the sovoreifjnty of the 
people. We are, in truth, the residuary legatees of all that the Mood and trea- 
sure of mankind, expended for four tiiousand years, have acc()mi)lisliod in the 
cause of human freedom. In our hands alone is the precious deposit. Before 
God and the world, we are responsible for this legacy. Not for our own benefit 
only, but for the benefit and happiness of the whole family of man. What 
course, then, shall this Government take to perpetuate our liberties and to 
diffuse our free institutions over the world? 

Ist. We must guard our Constituticmal grant of delegated power from infrac- 
tion. We must abide witliin the limits prescribed by the States to the General 
Government. We must discreetly exereisp the powers actually granted, and 
abstain from the exercise of all powers not granted. 

2d. We must so direct the foreign affiiirs of this Government, that the progress 
of liberty shall be promoted and not retarded. This progress may not be pro- 
moted by war except under peculiar circumstances. Peace, as 1 said upon a 
former occasion, is the true policy of this Republic. " Peace is the animating 
genius of our institutions," and, indeed, ought to be of all nations. 

But the whole world, wherever you look, with the exception of a portion of 
this continent, being under monarchical governments, I desire to know how the 
oppressed and fettered nations of the earth are to break their chains, and main- 
tain themselves against the armies of despotism, if the law of nations reads that 
there shall be no interventioji in their behalf? 

I cannot give my consent to any proclamation of principles which may be 
construed to abridge the right and sacred duty which belongs to this Govern- 
ment to do whatever it may choose to do in aid of any people who are striving 
to throw off the yoke of despotism. 

But, Mr. President, there are, in my judgment, two extremes, which should be 
avoided in the conduct of our foreign relations. 1st. W^e should not recklessly 
interfere with the affairs of foreign nations. We should count the cost, weigh 
well the duty and necessity, and be sure that our objects are practicable and 
attainable, consistent with the principles of our Government, and promotive of 
human liljerty and happiness. Wasliington, and the master spirits of that age 
of great men, knew well that in the infancy of this Government we were not 
able to cope with the European belligerents who had given us such just cause of 
offence. But he foresaw the perio 'hen this Republic would be able not only 
to protect itself, but to stand fort as one of the greatest powers of the earth. 
He foresaw, likewise, that our mi,-- ion was not compatible with any entangling 
alliances with other nations. He erefore admonished us to avoid all such con- 
nection. Notwithstanding, sir, tl. able and ingenious manner in which the in- 
vitation has been given, that we >uld entangle ourselves in a coalition with 
Great Britain to dictate this new w of non-intervention to all nations, I am, so 
far as it respects this overture, for iding by the advice of Washington ; I want 
no entangling alliances. 

2d. The other extreme which •« should avoid, and into which so many are 
desirous that we should rush heo long, without a glance to the future, is, that 
forgetting all our obligations ano duties to the cause of humanity and to tho 
principles of universal freedom, we should, from unworthy fears or a false con- 
servatism, hastily decide that we have no concern in the condition of the world 
beyond our own boundaries; and precij)itately resolve, that in no event and 
under no circumstances shall we interfere in behalf of oppressed nations. 

I cannot consent to yield and abandon this natural right, which all nations 
from time immemorial have exercised. Sir, I say that intervention — not for the 
purpose of helping an odious tyrant to put down liberty, because that is against 
the laws of God and man, but in behalf of "an oppressed people who implore 
assistance" — is not only in conformity with the universal practice of nations, but 
it is sustained and inculcated by the best authorities on public law. 

Vattel says: — 

"But, if the prince attacking the fundamental law give his subjects a legal 
right to resist him, — if tyranny, becoming insupportable, obliges the nation to 



APPENDIX E. 97 

tise in their defence — every foreign power has a right to succour an oppressed 
people who implore their assistance." 

Again, the same author says : — 

"For, when a people from good reasons take up arms against an oppressor, 
justice and generosity require that brave men should be assisted in defence of 
their liberties. Whenever, therefore, a civil war is kindled in a State, foreign 
powers may assist that party which appears to them to have justice on its side. 
He who assists an odious tyrant — he who declares for an unjust and rebellious 
people— offends against his duty." 

So much for the law ; now as to the practice. 

Mr. Wheaton says, in his history of the "Modern Law of Nations:" — 

" The first war of the French Revolution originated in the application, by the 
allied Powers, of the principle of armed intervention to the internal affairs of 
France, for the purpose of checking the progress of her revolutionary principles 
and the extension of her military power. That this was the avowed motive of 
the Powers allied in the continental war of 1792, will be apparent from the 
examination of historical documents." 

He says again : — 

" That the measures adopted by Austria, Russia, and Prussia, at the Congress 
of Troppau and of Laybach, in respect to the Neapolitan Revolution of 1820, 
were founded on principles adapted to give the great Powers of the European 
continent a perpetual pretext for interfering in the internal concerns of its differ- 
ent States." 

Mr. Wheaton, speaking of that period of time between the peace of West- 
phalia (1648) and that of Utrecht, (of 1813,) says :— 

" Whatever disputes might arise as to its (intervention) application, the 
principle itself was acknowledged on all hands." 

Sir, I well know that the opponents of intervention are in the habit of relying 
on isolated passages from writers on the law, of nations in support of this doc- 
trine. But it Avill be found, on a thorough ^examination of those writers, that 
all they mean to say is that no nation has a right to interfere with the domestic 
concerns o?- the municipal institutions of foreign countries, or to stir up to rebellion 
their citizens or subjects. But they all agree to the right to intervene when a 
people have actually risen and are striving, j throw off intolerable oppression. 

It is my delibei-ate opinion, sir, that we . i>t onl}^ have the right, but that it 
would be our duty, under some circumstancj'^d, in our own good time, when the 
occasion is proper and it may be practical/; f, to assist any people who rise to 
achieve their liberties and to establish a ,r publican government. Sir, it has 
been practised by all nations from time , if memorial ; and all the paper pro- 
mulgations which will ever be made will nt>y;fr stop this practice among nations. 
The only way in which it can be arrested i(Hj;by appealing to their interest and 
safety — by boldly declaring that we will infe> ere whenever it suits us. Sir, what 
law will they or do they consult except the l^-w of their own will ? You cannot 
chain up the great Powers of the earth by.pjj^per declarations of the law of na- 
tions. The law of nations in modern times,tas well as of old, is the hav of the 
strongest. This we experienced to our loss and sorrow for many years, during 
which our commerce was plundered by Great Britain and France, and for which 
redress has been vainly sought up to this time by our suffering fellow-citizens. 

It is true, indeed, that nations have generally exercised this right for the pur- 
poses of oppression and injustice, and in hostility to the rights of mankind. 
But a better time is coming, when the United States may interpose against the 
oppressor and in favour of the oppressed. 

Therefore, I am unwilling, after tyranny has so long had sway, and lorded it 
over the destinies of mankind, now to avow a principle •which leaves to its ten- 
der mercies the happiness of the whole human race. 

Sir, an avowal by us of the principle of non-intervention would raise a wall 
around this Republic as high as heaven, and would shut in the light of liberty 
from surrounding nations. The avowal of such a principle at this time would 
be received with one universal shout of joy by all the potentates of Europe, and 



98 APPENDIX E. 

•with one universal wail of lamentation ami wo by all true lovers of freedom on 
earth. I am unwilling to gratify tlio despots of the world by any such procla- 
mation. What Uo\n^. would remain to the opprt-ssed after such a declaration ? 
'Die radiant light which, emanating from this Republic, has so long clieered 
and animated tiieir hearts, would shine no longer; all would look black and 
cheerless, and despair would settle darkly on their prospects. 

Besides, would not the establishment of the principle of non-intervention as 
the law of nations be in direct opposition to the principles declared by Mr. 
Monroe in relation to this eontinent ? Does any one doubt that if this country 
felt itself bound, under no circumstances and at no time, to interfere with the 
affairs of Europe, that before many years monarchical governments would bo 
established in the whole Southern portion of this continent? Does anyone 
doubt that, before many years, the island of Cuba would be a dependency of 
Great Britain? It is, then, palpable that wiiile peace is the policy of this coun- 
try, and while we should always bear in mind the admonition of Washington 
against entangling alliances, that it would be suicidal to the honour, to the in- 
terests and prospective power, of this Government, if the United States should 
incur any obligation by which they would forever be forbidden from interfering 
in the affairs of other nations when(!ver circumstances in any case might render 
it necessary, just, and expedient. Therefore it seems to me that this principle 
of non-intervention would be in direct violation of all the rights and duties of a 
free and independent republic. 

Now, sir, in the practical application of these principles to the important 
topic of the day, I will take hold of that idea which others seem to have handled 
with such significant delicacy. I am not afraid to express my opinions on thia 
subject, or, indeed, on any other, although the press (which, God knows, is 
brave enough) seem to shrink from touching it ; and I say, for one, that I am 
not prepared to go to war with Russia on account of Hungary, partly because 
Russia is our old and true and faithful friend, and partly because Hungarian 
liberty, through the instrumentality of the United States, is at present an idea 
Utopian and impracticable. This proposition is self-evident, and requires no 
demonstration ; it is an impossible thing, and what is impossible cannot be — 
never comes to pass. But, Mr. President, though I am not prepared nor will- 
ing to go to war with Russia, or to disturb the present state of things in Hun- 
gary, about which we have so little satisfactory information, I will once more 
repeat, and declare it in the face of the world, as my opinion, that this Govern- 
ment has an indisputable and perfect right to interfere whenever, by such inter- 
ference, she can promote her own interests and advance the cause of liberty ; 
■whenever, by such interference, she may successfully rescue from the grasp of 
tyranny an oppressed nation, whom she may see fit to assist and to place among 
the independent naticms of the world. This is a principle which we cannot, we 
dare not, we never will, relinquish. It is an inherent principle of nationality, 
under no pretence whatever to be surrendered. 

Sir, if tyrants have used it heretofore to enthrall mankind, this growing Re- 
public will, some of these days, use it for their freedom. In peace let it be 
maintained with unfaltering tenacity; in war let it be asserted by all the power 
of arms; and when the great contest begins, as before 1900 it must, between 
free principles and the right of self-government and despotic power, then let it 
be inscribed upon all our banners — everywhere — wherever they float, on every 
sea, and land, and ocean, and continent, where the warfare rages, let it herald 
the advent of freedom and national independence, and the discomfiture of 
tyranny and oppression. 

I move that the resolutions be laid upon the table, and printed for the use of 
the Senate. 



APPENDIX E. ^^ 



Hemarks of Hon. R. F. Stockton, of Nero Jersey, on the Presentation 
of the Resolutions of the Legislature of New Jersey, upon the Com- 
promise Measures. 

DELIVERED IX THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, FEBRUARY 12, 1852. 

The following resolutions of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey were 
presented to the Senate, by Mr. Miller : — 

Whereas, the Constitution of the United States is a compact between the seve- 
ral States, and forms the basis of our Federal Union : 

And, whereas, the said States, through their representatives, in sovereign 
capacities as States, by adopting said Constitution, conceded only such powers 
to the General Government as were necessary " to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves 
and posterity :" 

And, whereas, the questions which agitated the country and absorbed so 
large a portion of the time of last session of the Congress of the United States, — 
questions in their nature directly opposed to the spirit and compromises of the 
Constitution, calculated to destroy our domestic tranquillity and dismember our 
glorious Union, — were happily terminated by the Compromise Measures, it is 
deemed the imperative duty of this Legislature to express their sentiments in 
relation thereto : Therefore, 

1. Eesolced, (Senate concurring,) That the Constitution of the United States 
was framed in the spirit of wisdom and compromise, is the bond of our Federal 
Union, and can only be preserved by a strict adherence to its express and im- 
plied powers ; that New Jersey, one of the original thirteen States, has always 
adhered to the Constitution, and is unalienably attached to the Union, and that 
she will resist, to the extent of her ability, any infraction of that sacred in- 
Btrument. 

2. Resolved, (Senate concurring,) That this Legislature cordially approves the 
measures adopted by the last session of Congress, known as the " Compromise 
Measures," and that every patriot in every part of our widely-extended country 
has cause to rejoice in the adoption of said measures, as a triumph of constitu- 
tional rights over a spirit of wild and disorganizing fanaticism. 

3. Eeaoked, (Senate concurring,) That New Jersey will abide by and sustain 
the Compromise Measures, and that her Senators in the Senate of the United 
States be instructed, and our Representatives in Congress be requested, to resist 
any change, alteration, or repeal thereof. 

4. Resolved, (Senate concurring,) That the Fugitive Slave Law is in accord- 
ance with the stipulations of the Constitution of the United States, and, in its 
provisions, carries out the spirit and letter of the Constitution in its compro- 
mises, upon which our Union is founded. 

5. Resolved, (Senate concurring,) That we approve of the patriotic stand taken 
by the Executive of the United States, in declaring his determination to execute 
and enforce all laws constitutionally enacted, and that the people of New Jersey 
will sustain him in so doing. 

6. Resolved, (Senate concurring,) That the Governor of the State be requested 
to transmit a copy of these resolutions to the Governor of each State in the 
Union, and to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress. 

The resolutions having been read, Mr. Stockton addressed the Senate as 
follows: — 

Mr. President : — I have also had the honour to receive the resolutions passed 
by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, which have 
just been presented by my honourable friend and colleague. Those resolutions, 
sir, ai'e patriotic and explicit, and need no commeudation or explanation or de- 



100 APPENDIX E. 

fence from me. Nor is it necessary that I shouM follow the example of my col- 
league, and re-state my opinions in regard to the important matters of which 
they treat, further than to say that I entirely ccmcur in tiio sentiments which 
they express. I have heretofore written and spoken as mueii on this suliject as 
I ought, perhaps, to write and speak on any sulyect ; and, if senators and the 
country arc not sufficiently well informed in regard to my opinions, it certainly 
is no fault of mine. It would, likewise, be quite superfluous for me to enter 
upon any vindication of the course which New Jersey has taken in relation to 
the subject-matter of these resolutions. If, unfortunately, she may, by that course, 
have alienated from her the affectionate regard of any of her sister States of the 
North, I can only for her regret such a result, and say that what she has done 
was intended for the welfare of the Union — the whole Union, and nothing but the 
Union. It was not that " she loved Ctssar less, but that she loved lunne more." 
If the men of the South are not satisfied with her course, all that 1 will say to 
them is that they are hard to please. 

Mr. President, it is a subject of regret as well as surprise to me, that the 
difl'erences of opinion in regard to the construction of the Constitution should 
continue to excite in the minds of a portion of our fellow-citizens such strong 
feelings of bitterness and resentment. Differences of opinion acrimonious and 
exciting, in relation to the interpretation of the Constitution, are no novelties. 
Bitter controversies, growing out of such diversities of opinion, disturbed the 
country long since quite as generallj' as that which is referred to by these reso- 
lutions. Happily, they were not of long duration. They subsided when the will 
of a majority of the States became known. Wh^', sir, at the time of the adop- 
tion of the Constitution, great diversities of opinion existed among the founders 
of the Republic. Formidal)le parties in Massachusetts, in New York, in Penn- 
sylvania, and in Virginia, vehemently opposed its adoption, and in many of the 
smaller States there were great objections to some of its provisions. It is known 
that it was not the plan preferred by New Jersey, and different in many respects 
from the one presented by that pure patriot and eminent statesman and jurist, 
Judge Patterson, from New Jersey. But that w'as the age of self-sacrificing 
virtue. Our fathers sacrificed their feelings, their personal interests and ambi- 
tion, to the public safety. They magnanimousl}' acquiesced in the will of the 
majority of the States, and exerted their best faculties to perfect the Constitution 
and to hand it down to posterity as a bond of Union. Following the example 
of the wise and patriotic founders of the Constitution and their contemporaries, I 
can perceive no reason why we should refrain from uniting, as they united, in a 
spirit of generous conciliation, to preserve the Constitution hereafter from in- 
fraction ; and to restore that harmony and those fraternal feelings which should 
exist between the different parties to this compact, and which are so essential to 
its beneficial existence as well as to the happiness of mankind. 

Mr. President, the passage of these resolutions has given me no ordinary 
satisfaction. They were unanimously adopted in each House of the New Jersey 
Legislature. They embody the undivided sentiment of that State. There, at 
least, no dissenting voice is now audible in opposition to the Compromise 
Measures. This unanimous declaration of the opinions of New Jersey is en- 
titled to great respect from the States of this Confederacy. It is a voice from 
the Flanders of Revolutionary America. New Jersey is that State which, more 
than any other, was the battle-field of the Revolution. And is it too much to ex- 
pect that her example should exercise a salutary influence upon Congress and the 
whole country for all time ? Certainly not, if unsparing sacrifices for the 
achievement of freedom and unfaltering fidelity in maintaining it deserve com- 
mendation and respect. 

Sir, New Jersey has produced her heroes and her statesmen, but not her his- 
torian. When her history is written, thai will be her eulogy. There is no stain 
on her escutcheon. Her sons can trace back their ancestry through many gene- 
rations without finding their blood curdling in the veins of a slave. Her terri- 
tory was settled by freemen — by men whose pride it was not only to be free, but 
just. True to themselves, and true to virtue and patriotism, no foot of iier soil 
was wrenched by fraud or force from tin; original savage proprietors. The last 



APPENDIX E. 101 

shadow of an Indian claim, a claim to some reserved hunting and fishing 
grounds, was voluntarily extin;j;uished by purchase many years ago. She has 
as much pride in looking back to her colonial as to her national history. In 
the long struggle vrith insolent governors and royal prerogative, her people were 
never driven back one hair-line from the assertion and maintenance of all the 
rights conferred upon them by their original grant ; and when the final struggle 
for independence came she was then among the first to enter the bloody arena. 
She threw overboard the royal Government and established a free Constitution 
before the Declaration of Independence, and in advance of her sister States, 
with the exception, I believe, of New Hampshire and South Carolina. Of the 
part which she took in that memorable struggle she has memorials Avhich will 
never perish. Bunker Hill, and Lexington, and Brandywine, and Charleston, 
were glorious, but not altogether successful, fields. They wear the laurels of 
Thermopylae. But the Marathons of the Revolution are in New Jersey, Tren- 
ton, Princeton, and Monmouth, commemorate victories. From their bloody 
fields freedom sprung disenthralled and invigorated. None of the " old thir- 
teen" made more costly pledges to the cause of liberty and the Union. On her 
territory everywhere may be seen the marks of hostile armies. She was lite- 
rally baptized in blood. None of her old household homesteads but are rich 
with the legendary tales of plunder and cruelty suifered at the hands of the 
enemy. Few of her old families but gave of their best blood to the cause ; and 
when the struggle was ended she reposed on the sacrifices she had made, and 
left to others the task of boasting of their achievements. She had performed 
her duty and was satisfied. 

Nor has New Jersey been less true to the Union in peace than in war. 
Among the first in her exertions to achieve our liberties, she yields to none the 
palm of superior exertions in maintaining them. AVhen the imperfections of 
the articles of the old confederation became manifest, she was the first to clothe 
her commissioners to the convention at Annapolis, in 1786, with full powers to 
remodel the whole form of Government. She united with New York, Pennsyl- 
vania, Delaware, and Virginia, in giving the first impulse to the movement which 
produced the Constitution. She was only second to Virginia in sending dele- 
gates to the Constitutional Convention ; and when the Constitution was formed 
she took the lead, with Pennsylvania and Delaware, in its ratification. She 
was the first, as I stated the other day, to approve the important amendments 
to the Constitution which secured freedom of religion and of speech, and the 
right of petition, which have been the safeguards of the States against the en- 
croachments of the General Government. She furnished her full proportion of 
those great men whose eloquence and wisdom have guided your public coun- 
cils, and whose heroism- has adorned your military annals. The first bright 
names given to glory in the war of 1812 were those of Pike and Lawrence, true 
representatives of the Jersey Blues. The first died in the arms of victory at 
Little York ; the other with the memorable words " Don't give up the ship" on 
his lips. There she is. Though small comparatively in territory, she yields to 
none in honour, virtue, and patriotism. She has never been at your doors beg- 
ging importunately for her share of the " loaves and fishes." If in the lifetime 
of this Government, now embracing a period of three generations of men, she 
has ever had more than two secretaries of a department and one judge of the 
Supreme Court, I have forgotten it. She has never had even one foreign minis- 
ter. With a long extent of sea-coast, and with an imperfect tide-water naviga- 
tion running into the heart of the State, she has never received any assistance 
from the General Government worthy a name in aid of her harbours and rivers. 
With her mountains full of iron, zinc, and other minerals — with her territory 
dotted all over with manufacturing establishments — she has borne without a 
murmur her share of the injuries sustained from an ever-changing revenue sys- 
tem. It may be truly said of her that, while she has borne her full proportion 
of the burdens of the Government, of its direct benefits she has asked little and 
received less. Still, there she stands, this day as of old, heart and hand, with 
her treasure and her resources and her blood pledged to a strict construction of 
the Constitution and to the Union of the States. 



102 Appendix e. 

In the name of a patriotic, generous, and heroic constituencj' — ay, sir, if mv 
colleague will permit me to say, in the name of every man, woman, and think- 
ing child in the State of New Jersey — I place my hand on that sacred instru- 
ment and declare for me and mine that no letter of it shall be infracted, if we 
can help it, neither by Northern or Southern unwise counsels. If wrongs exist, 
they must be redressed by law and according to the Constitution. But this 
Union of the States — the world's wonder — is the common heritage, as it is the 
common glory, of all the people of all the States. We must not permit one 
link of that golden chain to be broken and the hopes and happiness of man- 
kind, for all coming time, to be blighted in the bud by wild fanaticism or hasty 
passion. 

The motion to print was agreed to. 



Itcriiarhs of the Hon. R. F. StocJdon, of New Jersey, on the Bill to 
increase the efficiency of the Army and Navy. 

The Bill to increase the efficiency of the Army and Navy, by a retired list for 
disabled officers, being under consideration, Mr. Stockton said: 

Mr. President: — I have no objection to the postponement of this bill till to- 
morrow ; nay, I desire that it may be postponed to a still more remote period. 
I do not rise, however, to discuss that question, but simply to ask the chairman 
of the Military Committee, if he is not willing to leave the business of the Navy 
in the Senate to the Naval Committee, and whether he will not be kind enough, 
in the generosity of his temper, to believe that the Naval Committee will 
use their best exertions in behalf of the navy, and if he will not consent to 
strike out of the bill the words " the Navy, and to the Marine Corps." 

Mr. Shields. — I am perfectlj'^ willing to refer the whole matter to the Naval 
Committee, and they will do me a very great favour if they will take it upon 
their shoulders. The Committee on ^lilitary Affairs have iiieludetl the navy in 
this bill, because, on a former occasion, the Committee on Naval Affairs felt it 
rather hard because we introduced a bill for the army, and did not include the 
navy. And another reason for including both in one bill, was that they might 
be precisely upon the same footing; because, if one bill is brought in for the 
army, and another for the navy, they might differ in principle and in detail. 
But I will consent, if the senator wishes it, to refer the whole subject to the 
Naval C(/mmittee, and let them investigate it. 

Mr. Stockton. — The honourable senator would then commit a greater error 
still, in my opinion, by referring to the Committee on Naval Affairs an import- 
ant subject, of which they know little or nothing in comparison with the expe- 
rience and knowledge which his own gallant services have affordeil him. He is 
well acquainted — no one is better acquainted — with the wants of the army, and 
no one can or will do it more justice. I have no douljt he is ecpialiy disposed to 
do justice to the navy; but certainly there is a difference between the wants of 
the army and those of the navy of the United States in many particulars, and 
perhaps in none more so than in the matters of efficiency and discipline. That 
the navy of the United States requires some reform in several particulars, I 
think there are but few who doubt ; but this bill cannot secure the reforms 
adverted to, some of which 1 will mention before I resume my seat, at the risk 
of being tedious. Sir, this bill confers but little power that is not already vested 
by law in the Executive Department of the Government. The President of the 
United States and the Secretary of the Navy may now put any officer on fur- 
lough who cannot perform his duty ; and why do they not exercise that power, 
unpleasant, I grant ; yet the efficiency of the navy calls loudly for its exercise, 
disagreeable as it may be. Why is it that senators ask us to stand between the 
Executive Government and the people in regard to their proper responsibilities? 
The law, sir, has already given them power to clear away all this rubbish of 
which the honourable Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs speaks. 



APPENDIX E. 103 

Such persons as he speaks of have no business in the navy. They ou^ht to 
have been furli)uii;hed long ago. The channel should have been opened before 
this, and in a different way. The best officers of the navy should have been 
called up to the performance of the higliest duties of the profession, without 
ri'g,ard to their rank. The reason tliat they have not been so called is to be found 
in the imlieeility of the Government. They have the power now, let them take 
the responsibility of exercising it. 

Sir, if it be necessary for the Senate now to interfere, let us have a well-con- 
sidered system. Let us begin and make a thorough reform. But is it wise to 
do this now? to do this on the eve of the outgoing of an administration? The 
Committee cm Naval Alfairs, I believe, for twelve months, have thought of nothing 
more earnestly and nnxiously than naval ref trni, and they design to submit, at 
a proper time, to the Senate, their views of that reform. But they wish to do it 
thoroughly, and intend to begin at the Navy Department. 

Sir, all the memljers of that committee cherish a regard, a patriotic love, for 
the navy. They cherish those feelings not only on account of the remembrances 
of the past, but the anticipations of the future. They remember that this 
nation is indebted to the navy more than to the army, or to all the other defen- 
sive institutions of the country, for its present lofty and prosperous position. 
That I say without fear of contradiction. Sir, when dismay pervaded this 
counti-y, when the dark cloud uf misfortune was hovering over you, when defeat 
followed defeat in your army, whose shouts of triumph reanimated and rein- 
vigorated the patriot's heart? It was your gallant navy. And yet, sir, the 
honourable senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Hale) only on yesterday com- 
plained of the expenses of the navy. Sir, the expenses of our navy are nothing 
in comparison with its importance, its usefulness. They never have been. One 
battle, the battle of the Constitution and Guerriere, was worth more to this 
nation than all the treasure that has ever been expended upon the navy. Re- 
member, that at the time of which I speak the British navy and invincibility 
were, in the minds of most of our countrymen, one and the same thing; and 
remember, also, that your Executive quailed before the terrors of that invinci- 
bility. Your ships were ordered to be laid up, and your coast and mercantile 
marine abandoned to the enemy. 

It was an officer of the navy (Hull) who, against authority, without orders, in 
opposition to the will of tlie Government, put to sea, and with his noble ship 
and gallant crew achieved for you that victory which astonished the world and 
electrified our own Government and people; and, from its moral eff'ect, was 
worth, as I have said, all the money you have ever expended upon the navy. 
The importance, the effect, the value of that fight of Hull's it is impossible to 
measure or to explain. In fifteen minutes the trident of Neptune was wrested 
from the grasp of that heretofore invincible navy. At that time, the idea of 
British invincibility was so common, hardly a man out of the navy, perhaps, 
who did not believe that one British frigate could take two or three American 
frigates. Now sir, bearing in mind this state of public feeling, with such odds 
against them, let me call up before the Senate some reminiscences of the past. 
Let me state one fact, if no more, to show the obligation you are under, not only 
to the ship, but to the officer, and to illustrate the cause of this victory to have 
been the superiority of your men. You have as good materials now, but we 
must keep up with the progress, the improvement of the age in which we live. 

" See the bold Constitution the Guerriere o'ertaking, 
AVhile the sea from her fury divides." 

See, likewise, that haughty invincible British frigate lying to leeward under 
easy sail, impatiently waiting the encounter. See her crew, elated with the 
remembrances of a hundred battles, in the hope, the joy, the expectation of an 
easy conquest. Hear their shouts of anticipated triumph, only checked by the 
certainty of too easy a victory. Look again to your own "Constitution." See 
her bearing down on that frigate, that invincible frigate with St. George's impe- 
rious and arrogant ensign streaming from her mast-head. All is silent on the 
Constitution ; no hurrying to or fro, no confusion ; all ready to fight and to die 



104 APPENDIX E. 

fur their country. Again, sir, on board the British ship all is hustle, and hurry, 
and cxultatiiHi of anticipated victory. All is .still as death on buard the Consti- 
tution. Sir, \ve can all feel the anxiety of that moment, hut I cannot descrihe 
it. I speak not merely of their coura<ie, hut of their devotion to their country 
and to their flag; they had resolved to do or die. She bore down on the British 
fi'ijijate without a whisper being heard on her peopled deck. 

They had heard of raking fires; they well knew their destructive effect. They 
had heard of the menioraljle tactics of the British navy, and soon perceived 
that the captain of the British frigate was not to be satisfied with simply taking 
them, but he would do it in the most approved manner. Steadily Hull goes 
down, n(jthing daunted. The British frigate fires a raking broadside, and then 
wore round and fired another. Steadily Hull keeps his course. By-and-by the 
first Lieutenant of the Constitution asked Captain Hull if he should return the 
fire. Hull inquired, "Have you lost any men?" "No, sir." "Wait a while," 
said Hull. Steadily he keeps his course until he gets within pistol-shut, and 
then, rounding to as if for a salute, with one broadside decid(;d the victory. 

NoAV, sir, some of these, perhaps, are among the men whom you propose by 
this bill, unceremoniously, if you please, by the will of the President to put 
upon a retired list, and with them you would, perhaps, put some of the men who 
ran from the defence of the frigate Chesapeake. Would you, sir, put men who, 
when the English boarded their ship, ran below, on the same list with the gal- 
lant victors of the Constitution? Is that just? Therefore I say, that the chair- 
man of the Military Committee has, in in}' judgment, not well considered this 
bill, so far as regards the navy. If we arc to have a retired list, we should have 
two lists. We should have one which would be for such men as Hull, and such 
men as Morgan, the gentleman who was before the Senate yesterday on indict- 
ment by the senator from New Hampshire. He is one of the most gallant men 
I ever knew, and when the Constitution got foul of the Guerriere, he went up 
into the mizen-rigging, and, having looked down, sung out to his shipmates, 
"They have all run away from their guns; let us boardi" And this he did 
amid showers of musket-shot which fell around him. That was the officer who 
was arraigned here yesterday. 

Sir, I ask the honourable chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs to 
allow the Committee on Naval Affairs, who perhaps have reflected on this sub- 
ject as much as any other members of this body, to take care of the interests 
of the navy for the present — let them have further trial. 

But I must in candour say, that that committc", I believe, are not ready to-day 
to report on so important a matter as the reorganization of the navy. The navy 
has not only been important, but with these warlike resolutions and these war- 
like speeches ringing in our ears day after day, I consider it quit' as important, 
at this time, as it ever has been. The navy is now, I will undertake to say, 
good for nothing for the purposes of war; and I would rather make a motion 
now to abolish the navy of the United States, than undertake to mend and patch 
it up Ijy jnecemeal. Let us go at it in good earnest^ and see wliat we can do 
for it. It has happened with the navy, that since its first establisiiment there 
has never been any overhauling of its "personnel." The army has been pruned 
and culled two or three times, but the navy has never been interfered with in 
that way. The Government has always acted on the presumptiun that a boy 
who entered the navy when he was twelve years of age was capable of com- 
manding a ship and wearing the epaulets of a captain whenever he was pro- 
muted in turn to that rank. Apply that rule to the pursuits of the world gene- 
rally; take any hundred men who promised well in their youth, and how many 
of them will you find who have realized the fond expectations of friends when 
they arrived at the age of manhood? 

The thing speaks for itself. The navy needs reforming, not only because it 
never has been reformed, but because most of those persons who got appoint- 
ments in the navy when boys are there now, and some of tliem totally disquali- 
fied for efficient service. The consequence of this system is, all the old officers 
who are in the service must continue to fill the most important places, tit or 
unfit. Many of them are of high character, and have rendered the country 



APPENDIX E. 105 

great services, and should be honoured, but not employed where younger men 
would do better. They do not belong to the school of progress ; they may be 
old men who have not thought it necessary to keep up with the constant pro- 
gress of naval affairs in the world. They may be men of high honour, of great 
courage, of exalted worth, men who maintained the honour and glory of the 
counti'y in the battle and the breeze. But, sir, old age has come; they must 
retire; but for such it should be an honouralde retirement. The ardour, the fire 
of youtii is gone ; they feel not the same m<itives to excite them to exertion as 
younger men, who are in the meridian of life, and who by the present system 
are kept entirely without employment such as their talents demand, until they, 
in like manner, are borne down with years. 

Sir, I hold that this Government has nothing to do with commiseration or pity 
in this matter of reorganizing the navy. We are bound to do justice to the 
country as well as to the officei's. I hold that the nation is entitled to the ser- 
vices, and the best services, of the best men in its employ ; and I say that any 
system which precludes the employment of the best men in any branch of the 
service is radically wrong, and it ought to be changed ; I care not by what pro- 
cess it is changed. No appeal can be made to my sympathies or feelings. I am 
willing to pay money to these officers, if that is all that is required ; but I am 
not willing that they should be in the way of others, and thus to balance the 
account with their country by doing as much harm as good. The Executive 
has, as I have before observed, the power to correct most of the evils complained 
of; but he will not do it if the present system is continued. I shall take some 
proper occasion to recommend an entirely new organization of the Navy Depart- 
ment. You generally have a Secretarj' of the Navy who knows nothing in the 
world about naval matters. He is brought here from his profession, and has 
to depend upon others for all the information he gets, and those others in nowise 
responsible for their advice. His word is the law. If a squadron is to be fitted 
out, he, under the direction of the President, orders the ships and their officers 
without knowing any thing about them. 

Sir, this one-man power will not do in such an establishment. I think that 
there is no living man that has the intellectual or physical power to perform the 
duties of the Navy Department as they ought to be performed injustice to the 
country. Mr. President, I look to the navy as the bulwark of our honour if 
not safety; and I tell you, sir, that all your famous schemes in reference to 
Cuba will vanish like mist before the wind, and gentlemen will regret the war- 
like speeches which they have made, if you do not look to your navy in time. 
Look at the threatening aspect of France and England. It has amazed me that we 
are so indifferent about the only means you have to defend your honour. Sup- 
pose Europe should combine against you, as they would have done long ago, if 
there had been a monarch there of sagacity and boldness worth the gold in his 
crown. Every one of your ports would have been blockaded. They would 
have forbidden you to go on the ocean. They would have declared that, as you 
had assumed this continent to be your own, you should leave the ocean to them. 
In such a case how would you have fared twenty-five years ago ? It is very 
easy to bully and boast ; but I know the effect of a 32-pound shot at sea at any 
rate, and I know that a man's heart cannot save his head in such a case. Let me 
assure senators, while I am discoursing upon this subject, that I am speaking to 
the most important subject which, in my opinion, can now occupy the attention 
of American statesmen. 

Mr. President, I repeat that the Secretary of the Navy should have responsible 
advisers, and that in all the details he should have his vote, and that is all. He 
is a Cabinet Minister. The President has the power of appointing him. I would 
have it so — he may know all about those duties. But 1 would have him in- 
structed in all those branches in which he is deficient, not by casual itinerant 
teachers, but by known responsible instructors. Sir, I would have a Board 
established. I would have that Board composed of the heads of all the 
bureaus. I would have them meet at a given hour every day. I would 
have the Secretary of the Navy ex-officio president of the Board, and the 
modus operandi of such organization would be this : — When the President 



106 APPENDIX E. 

and C(inf;rcss wanted a fleet to go to the "West Indies or to the East Indies, 
or anywhere else, the order would be presented to the Board, the sliips and 
the cffioer.s would be selected by it, and so, through the instrumentality of 
this Board, the Government and people would have the benefit, as they ought 
to have, of the best experience and the best knowledge in the nnvy upon 
©very given question. As it now stands, you have several irresponsible bu- 
reaus. The oflBcer at the head of the Ordnance bureau may know more about 
construction, yet he has nothing to say about it; he is to look to the guns and 
to nothing else. 'The officer who has charge of the construction may know more 
about ordnance, yet he lias nothing to say alicjut the ordnance. Now, 1 say that 
the whole j)ower of these bureaus should be l)rought to boar upon every question, 
not only in regard to the construction of ships, but the appointment of officers. 
In m}' judgment, sir, there would be less probability of injustice being done by 
this process than in any other ; especially, you would have some responsible men 
to look to. Who is responsible now in the navy Z Who is responsible for the 
present condition of the navy? Who is responsible for the building or repair- 
ing of the vessels? I must say one word only about that matter. I ask, who is 
responsible for the failure of the Princeton ? They took the name of the most 
efi"ective and useful ship-of-war that ever tloated in our waters, the most for- 
midable man-of-war that was ever put in commission in this country, a ship 
that could have defied the whole American navy, and gave it to this abortion of 
which we have heard so much of late. They disregarded her model, her con- 
struction, and her engine, and, from being the tirst ship in the country, she is 
now the scorn of all seamen and all engineers. 

And again, I ask, who is responsible ? You may go on and reform the officers. 
But while the Secretary of the Navy is allowed to remain with his present 
honours and powers, and in perpetual ignorance, the reform of the otiicers will 
not amount to much. Sir, I want to reform the Secretary. I do not allude par- 
ticularly to the present Secretary. But that will be done before long. Then, 
if another Secretary cannot, or will not, reform the navy, I hope Congress w411 
take it in hand in good earnest ; but, sir, once more I say that it seems to me 
there is no responsibility anywhere in the navy. The other day they built a 
dock in Philadelphia, and incurred the expense of fitting a ship in New York 
or some other Eastern port to be taken to Philadelphia and put in the dock. 
When she arrived there, it was found, not before, but after, her arrival, that there 
was not water enough to permit her to be taken upon the dock. Yet, sir, as far 
as I have been informed, nobody is responsible; and so, alter this manner, has 
the navy of the country been disgraced time after time and year after year. 

Mr. President, my object, as one of the Naval Committee, has been, and is, to 
endeavour to perfect the whole naval system, by beginning at the head, and 
making everybody responsible that can be made responsible, and to insure, as 
far as possible, to the people of the United States the benefit of all the experi- 
ence and knowledge that may be in the navy. And now, sir, I ask my friend, 
the chairman iif the Committee on Military Affairs, whether he will not trust the 
Committee on Naval Affairs with tiiis matter, and strike out of his bill that por- 
tion of it which relates to the Navy and Marine corps? 

Mr. Sliiehls. — I wish to assure my honourable and gallant friend, the senator 
from New Jersey, that we do not want to interfere in any way with the pre- 
rogatives of the Naval Committee. But, on former occasions, some difficulties 
arose in the Senate because the Military Committee brought in one bill and the 
Naval CVnumittoe brought in another, and hence the Military Committee thought 
it would be better that we sh(mld agree on one bill and apply it to both services. 
We drew up the bill precisely in pursuance of that understanding. We drafted 
it in accordance with the bills that have been heretofore reported ; but if the 
honourable senator wislies to have charge of the subject, and is not satisfied 
with this bill, I am, for one, heartily willing that he should take the whole sub- 
ject into his own charge. 

When the honourable senator rose he said he did not mean to discuss this bill, 
and 1 think he has kept his word ; 1 do not believe he has discussed tiie measure 
before the Senate, although he has discussed the merits and condition of the 



APPENDIX E. lOT 

navy to my delight and satisfaction. But, Mr. President, there is one thing in 
which I cannot follow the honourable senator, and tliat is, in drawing a contrast 
between the navy and the army. That honourable and distinguished senator 
says that the navy has done a great deal more than the army. N(jw, I believe 
that both have done their duty tolerably well, and I am satisfied they will do 
their duty again, although the honourable senator says that the navy is not 
worth any thing now. I am inclined to believe that perhaps it has suifered vei"y 
much since his retirement from the service. His retirement must be partly the 
reason for its decline. 

I agree with him in reference to the necessity of a reformation of the navy; 
and nothing would give me more satisfaction than to see my honourable friend 
in a position which would enable him to reform it, root and branch. But, so far 
as this bill is concerned, it does not aim at any such thing. It does not go into 
the radical reformation of the navy. It does not contemplate the estaldishment 
of an Admiralty Board, and when that proposition comes up I shall have some- 
thing to say aljout it. The boards which we have hitherto established in refer- 
ence to claims, or lands, or f)r any other purpose, have almost all been failures, 
and I have doubts whether this Board of Admiralty would not be the biggest and 
greatest failure of the whole. That is my opinion upon the subject ; but that 
question is not now before the Senate ; when it does come up, I for one shall be 
ready to discuss it. 

Although I cannot follow the honourable senator throughout his speech, there 
is one thing I cun say: that, so far as this bill goes, — and I speak in relation to 
the army, — I think it will be an efficient and a beneficial bill. If the honourable 
senator takes upon himself the responsibility, in the name of the navy, to move 
to strike out all that pertains to the navy, he may do so ; I will proceed in rela- 
tion to the army, and let him remain responsible to the navy for striking it out. 
I shall not make any such motion. The provision is there, and there it wiU 
stand, unless he moves to strike it out. 

I must say that the speech of the honourable senator was not very logical in 
some respects. He says that the President has power to do the very thing con- 
templated by this bill without its passage, and yet he says it would be oppres- 
sive. That is not very logical. If the President can do what is contemplated 
by this bill without its passage, the worst it can do will be nothing; for it will 
amount to nothing, according to that view of the subject. It is true, the Presi- 
dent can turn any officer out of the army or navy ; but if he were to turn one of 
them out, — if he were to turn out one of those gallant and distinguished officers 
whose names the gentleman has mentioned, in what condition would they be 
left? Without support — without pay. The Pi-esident may turn them out in 
their old age, when they are broken down with service and with sickness, and 
throw them upon the charities of the world. But this bill provides for the sup- 
port of those officers who may be removed. 

However, sir, I am not disposed to continue the discussion any further to-day. 
I have moved that the bill be postponed for the purpose of having it printed, and 
when it comes up again we can dispose of it more advisedly. 

Mr. Stockton. — I do not intend to assume any responsibility upon myself as 
speaking for the navy, but such as belongs to my position. I am here as a sena- 
tor, and I speak on my responsibility as a senator, and as such I shall move to 
strike out from this bill its provisions in relation to the navy and marine corps. 
I presume to speak for no body of men and for no individual but myself. 

The senator adverted to my remark that the President had this power now ; 
yet he complains of its severity, and says that the President has power to turn 
out, but if he exercised it he would turn the officers adrift without any provision 
for their support. That is not the power to which I alluded ; and the gentle- 
man's remark only shows what I apprehended was the case — that he has not 
looked into the matter in reference to the navy. The President has a right to 
furlough officers upon half-pay. That is the law to which I alluded ; and, there- 
fore, it seems to me that the gentleman has indulged his wit without, perhaps, 
having a very proper occasion to do so. 

There is, however, one part of the gentleman's remarks that perhaps I did 



108 ^ APPENDIX E. 

not exactly understJind, and I should like to have him explain them. ITe re- 
ferred to what 1 said as to the present condition of the navy, and said that it had 
ferhajl^ retrograded since I left the navy, or in consef(uen(;e of my leaving it. 
did not exactly catch the senator's words, and I should like to hear them 
again in order to understand his meaning. 

Mr. iSiiields. — I meant the very highest possihle compliment to my honourable 
and gallant friend. I indulged in no wit wliatever. I made no effort to be witty. 
I stated that I presumed the navy had suffered considerably since that honour- 
able gentleman had retired from the service. Could I have jiaid him a higher 
compliment? There is no man of whom I have a higher estimate than 1 have 
of the gallant and meritorious officer; and I certainly did not mean to reflect on 
the honourable senator from New Jersey', by saying that the navy had suffered 
since his retirement from the service. 

Mr. Stockton. — I felt under the conviction that I could not be mistaken in 
the sentiments and feelings of the honourable senator from Illinois towards me, 
and I am glad that I have not been mistaken. 



Speech of Hon. R. F. Stochion, of New Jersey, on Harbour 
Defences. 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MAV 11, 1852. 

The Senate having resumed, as in Committee of the Whole, the consideration 
of the joint resolution authorizing the completion of a war-steamer for harbour 
defence — 

Mr. Stockton said: — Mr. President, when the chairman of the Naval Com- 
mittee announced to the Senate his intention to call up the resolution now under 
consideration, he stated that the senator from New Jersey — myself — felt great 
interest in the subject. It is quite true ; I do feel great, very great interest in 
the success of this resolution, and I have no doubt that the result will show that 
I am not the only senator who feels deeply interested in the prosperity and 
safety of New York City. I am interested, principally, because I am of opinion 
that the defences of that city require the immediate attention of Congress, and 
partly because one of my constituents — a gentleman of reputation and useful- 
ness — has been, in my opinion, unfairly, ungenerously, unjustly treated by the 
Government. I do not mean by the present Secretary of the Navy, because I 
understand that this whole matter was, by his remarkable predecessor, placed 
beyond his control. 

There was a report made by the Naval Committee, at the time this resolution 
was first presented to the Senate. I ask that it may now be read. It will pro- 
bably relieve me from the disagreeable duty of saying any thing further as to 
the conduct of the late Administration : — 

" The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred so much of the Presi- 
dent's message and accompanying documents as relates to naval affairs, having 
had under consideration that part of the report of the Secretary of the Navy 
which refers t" the construction of a war-steamer by Robert L. Stevens, report: — • 

" That on January 13, 1842, the Board of Commissioners of the Navy recom- 
mended Mr. Stevens's plan for a steamer, to be ball and bomli-pmof, to the 
consideration of the Secretary of the Navy. Shortly afterwards Mr. Stevens 
submitted to Congress a printed copy of his plan. The Chamber of Commerce 
of New York, on the 15th of Februarj^ 1842, recommended to Congress tli6 plan 
ot Mr. Stevens. 

"A joint board of officers of the army and navy, to wit: — Colonels Totten, 
Thayer, Talcott, and Captain linger, Commodores Stewart and Perry, Captain 
Stringham, and Lieutenant Newman, appointed for that purpose, convened in 
New York the 8th of July, 1841, to witness, superintend, and report upon Mr. 



APPENDIX E. 109 

Stevens's experiments with a bomb and ball-proof target, suited to the sides of 
a vessel. The experiments were made in their presence, and a report of the 
Board submitted to the Department in favour of Mr. Stevens's proposed plan of 
construction. 

"On the 14th of April, 1842, Congress passed an act authorizing the Secretary 
of the Navy to contract -with Mr. Stevens for a war-steamer, shot and shell- 
proof, to be constructed principally of iron, upon the plan of Mr. Stevens, not 
to cost more than the average of the steamers Missouri and Mississippi, and ap- 
propriated $250,000 for the purpose. 

" On the 10th of February, 1843, Mr. Stevens entered into contract with Mr. 
Upshur, Secretary of the Navy, to build a war-steamer, 'to be shot and shell- 
proof against the artillery now in use on board vessels of war.' 

" In order to launch a vessel of the size and description of the one contracted 
for, Mr. Stevens found it necessary to excavate and erect, at his own and an 
enormous expense, a dry-dock of capacity suflBeicnt to build her in and float her 
out. This, of course, involved the necessity of delay in construction ; though 
while engaged in making the dry-dock, ho was also assiduously engaged in pro- 
curing the materials, fashioning the patterns, and organizing the preliminary 
details for an undertaking of such magnitude and importance. 

"In December, 1843, Mr. Henshaw, who succeeded Mr. Upshur as Secretary 
of the Navy, declined making the necessary payments for materials. In No- 
vember following, a second contract, very full, minute, and particular, was 
made with Mr. Stevens, which was followed by a supplemental contract with 
John Y. Mason, Secretary, in December, 1844, and which provided for the pay- 
ments on account of the contract. Mr. Stevens then prosecuted with vigour the 
performance of his duties; and while so engaged, on the 9th of December, 1845, 
was again arrested in the execution of his contract by an order from Mr. Ban- 
croft, stopping all further proceedings under the contract, and refusing further 
payments until the plan for the steamer was furnished. Yet, at this very time, 
the Department was in possession of the plan of Mr. Stevens, furnished when 
the original contract was first made, and a further statement of his plan fur- 
nished in November, 1844. Thus a second time was he stopped in his work. 
His health being seriously impaired, he was ordered to Europe hy his physician. 

"In January, 1847, Mr. Stevens applied to Mr. Mason, then Secretary, for an 
extension of time in which to complete the steamer, and satisfactorily accounted 
for the causes of whatever delay had been suffered. After more than eighteen 
months, an additional contract was made, reciting the former, and extending 
the time of completion to four years from the date of the last. By these several 
contracts, the most minute details of the work were given, and the complete 
security for the execution of the project, and every proper safeguard was pro- 
vided against loss by the United States. 

" Hardly a year, however, was permitted to elapse, when, in August, 1849, Mr. 
Secretary Preston refused to make any further payments to Mr. Stevens on ac- 
count, and tlie work was again stopped. Mr. Stevens was then in Europe, en- 
gaged in obtaining better materials for some jwrtions of- the steamer than could 
be obtained in this country. Contracts were made by him in Europe for such 
materials ; after which he immediately returned home, and urged the Secre- 
tary to permit him to proceed according to contract. Mr. Preston, however, 
declined taking any other steji than to refer the matter to Congress. 

"Whatever delay took place in the performance of this contract, was indis- 
pensable to its faithful and successful execution. The necesfiity for these de- 
lays was not, it is believed, properly appreciated by the Navy Department. 
^Tiie experiments necessary to test the quality of the materials, and demonstrate 
the details of the plan, involved the consumption of much time. The experi- 
ments necessary to establish and improve the character of the propeller which 
was linallj adopted, also required much time. Even from this delay the Govern- 
ment derived the advantage of availing itself of this propeller, in the construc- 
tion of the Princeton, which was thus proved to be superior to any other then 
in use, or, indeed, since adopted. Workshops, together with a steamboat, were 
required to be built for those experiments. Also a large dry-dock was con- 



110 ^ APPENDIX E. 

Ptructed, with a steam-engine, punching find drilling-machines, tools, &c., and 
larj^e jumiji.s, -which have Kept tlie dock free from water ever since its comple- 
tion, at vory >;reat expense. One-tiiird of the dry-dock witliiii wliidi tlie fiuvern- 
mcnt iron stciinier was to have been Iniilt was excavated from solid rock. All 
this consiinietl and required unremitting personal exertion and supervision, and 
large (expenditures of monej', for wiiich no remuneration has been made. But 
all delay was satisfactorily explained before the several renewals of the contract, 
at eacii period of sudi renewal. 

"When the contractor was first arrested by Mr. Secretary Bancroft, he was in 
advance, and liable for materials — principally for heavy ]ilatos of iron from 
Pennsylvania — about S-10,000, which was subsequently paid to him. lie is now 
in advance about $30,000, also for heavy plates and tubes for the boiler, &c., 
from England. Yet the Government now proposes to sell his property to reim- 
burse itself for previous payments on his contract, for non-performance of the 
same, performance of which has been prevented by the action of the Govern- 
ment itself. 

"On the 21st January, 1851, Commodore Skinner addressed Mr. Stevens, and 
informed him that the Navy Department, considering the contract void, de- 
signed to sell, shortly, the materials collected by him for the purpose of exe- 
cuting it according to his several agreements. 

"To sum up tiie whole subject, it appears that Congress, by the act of 14th 
April, 1842, directed a Secretary of the Navy to make a contract with Robert 
L. Stevens for a war-steamer, and appropriated a specific amount of money to- 
wards the construction proposed. The contract was executed. Mr. Stevens, in 
good faith, proceeded to perform all his obligations. The contract Avas after- 
wards made more specific, its minutest details enumerated, and the time for its 
comjiletion extended by a succeeding Secretary. The amplest security for its 
faithful execution was required and given. Officers of the United States were 
appointed to superintend the receipt of materials provided, and payments for 
such materials were made by the Government from time to time. A subsequent 
Secretary of the Navy, without any previous notice to the contractor, suddenly 
suspended the execution of the contract, and refused the payments stipulated 
therein to be made ; leaving the contractor bound to pay large sums for the 
materials for wiiich he had contracted in the prosecution of his work. Another 
Secretary renewed the contract, and extended the time for its execution. The 
contractor again vigorously and actively applied himself to the execution of his 
contract. "While thus industriously emphjyed, another Secretary again arrested 
his work, and finally suspended all payments, and referred the subject to Con- 
gress. The present Secretary consi(iers himself bound by the acts of his prede- 
cessor, and treats the contract as at an end ; and. Congress having omitted to 
act on the subject, he has given notice to Mr. Stevens, under the power to sell, 
contained in the mortgages executed by the contractor, that materials collected 
by him will be sold for the benefit of the Government. 

" It is, therefore, apjiarent that, without some legislative action by Congress, 
the contractor, who is willing and desirous of fulfilling all engagements in good 
faith, entered into by the direction and under the auiltority of Congress, will, by 
Executive interposition, be subjected (against right, as your committee believe) 
to very heavy and unjust losses, while the Government will lose the advantages 
to be derived from the genius, skill, and science of one of the most accomplished 
naval architects in the country, in the construction of that very sort of war- 
steamer which the service requires. 

" Your committee, therefore, on full consideration of the whole subject, recom- 
mend tlie adoption of the following joint resolution: — 

"lie^olved, by the Senate and IIounc of Representatives in Congress assembled, 
That the Secretary of the Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to 
have completed, without any unnecessary delay, the war-steamer contracted for 
with Robert L. Stevens, in pursuance of an act of Congress passed April 14, 
1842." 

Mr. President, I should have felt disposed to leave this report, and the unani- 



APPENDIX E. Ill 

mous recommendation of the Committee on Naval Affairs, without a word of 
comment, to the Senate, if I had not been asked to make some explanation, and 
if the importance of the subject of which it treats, at the present juncture of 
time, did not seem to require from me some few remarks. Considering the re- 
lation which the city of New York bears to this Government and to the whole 
country, the committee are of opinion that every reasonable preparaticjn for her 
defence, in time of war with a maritime Power, ought to be adopted. 

I will not dilate on the importance, in a military or naval point of view, of 
that harbour. Its great importance must be obvious to all minds who have 
given the subject of national defence any consideration. But 1 must say that, 
while thus important, it is the most exposed, perhaps, of any other important 
city of the first class on the seaboard. Sir, our defences require immediate at- 
tention. The signs of the times ai'e premonitory of war and revolution. Almost 
every arrival from Europe informs us of warlike preparation by the great Powers 
of tliat continent. Upon the throne of France — I say throne, for in fact Louis 
Napoleon is monarch and supreme arbitrator of the destinies of France, as much 
as Napoleon the Great was in his zenith — upon the throne of France now sits a 
man, whom the necessities of his position seem to compel to a rivalry of his re- 
nowned kinsman and predecessor. If we examine the history of Europe, we 
will find that since the time of Charlemagne, whenever France was under the 
control of a bold, restless, ambitious, or unscrupulous monarch, she was in- 
variably engaged in long and bloody wars with her neighbours. 

In addition to the national propensity to interfere with the affairs of her neigh- 
bours, which modern history shows is characteristic of the French, they have, 
as we were eloquently told the other day, in the able and instructive speech of 
the Senator from Tennessee, (Mr. Bell,) as they believe, wrongs to avenge and 
dishonour to wipe away. France was never more powerful than she is now. 
Near thirty years have enabled iier to recruit the wars of the Emperor ; and for 
twenty years past she has assiduously exerted all her resources to regain that 
military efficiency which has always given her a commanding ascendency in 
the affairs of the world. She has regained it. She is, at present, the cause of 
disquietude and alarm to all the contiguous Powers. She stands in the panoply 
and attitude of defiance ; and no one can say how soon, or where, she will not 
pour her mighty armies. 

But all will agree that no great European war can take place without endan- 
gering our peaceful relations with one or other of the belligerents. We are ad- 
monished, therefore, not to neglect those preparatory defences which, in war, 
would be indispensable for the protection of our seaboard. 

We had some severe lessons on this subject during the late war with Great 
Britain, and it would be the height of fatuity if another war should find us no 
better prepared for it than we now are. 

And yet, sir, I am not exaggerating when I say that we are at this present 
time quite as defenceless ; our cities and harbours are quite as much exposed to 
hostile incursions as they were in 1812. They have grown in wealth and popu- 
lation quadruple what they were then ; but when we consider the increased 
facilities for attack which foreign naval powers possess, we shall find that, not- 
withstanding your forts, your most important ports are as vulnerable now as 
they were in 1812. 

While the engines and implements of war have been, of late years, vastly 
augmented for offensive operations, those for harbour defence have not been 
correspondingly increased by us. A hostile squadron is no longer dependent 
on the fickle wnnds for an opportunity to approach your shores or enter your 
harbours. They can hover, at their own chosen distance, on your coast, dis- 
tracting and alarming the whole seaboard, and pounce, with celerity and pre- 
cision, under the cover of night, upon the devoted place which they doom to 
destruction. 

Steamships of great power and speed have been constructed, infinitely more 
formidable than any thing which we had to encounter in 1812. Your forts have 
not been increased or strengthened in proportion to the increase of power with 
which other nations have fortified themselves. 

21 



112 APPENDIX E. 

Thore liavo always been great douV)ts entertained, by the most scientific and 
experl(MK-e(l men, as to the ability of the best-constructed forts to prevent sail- 
ing-vet'sois, with a leading breeze, from passing them ; and there seems to be 
little or no doubt that steamships may be built, which would pass, unharmed, 
materially, any fort. 

Steamships may, undoubtedly, be built, which, with aid from the tide, may 
attain a speed exceeding twenty miles per hour. Such a vessel in six minutes, 
might approach and piass any of your forts, at night, without being disa))led. 
One such steam-vessel, moored in New York Bay, might kindle that great city 
into flames, and, screaming the proud note of triumph, leave it a heap of smoking 
ruins. Nothing could prevent such a catastrophe. Be assured, senators, and 
let our fellow-citizens everywhere be assured, that nothing could prevent such 
a catastrophe, in the event of a war with a great naval power, but a steam float- 
ing-battery, such as that contemplated by the plan of Mr. Stevens — indestruct- 
ible, shot and shell-proof, and bearing an armament consisting of such guns, a 
single shot from which would be sufficient to disable the most ])owerful man-of- 
war now launched. One such vessel would be sufficient to defend New York 
Harbour from any force which could possibly enter it. -It would combine the 
impregnable qualities possessed by stone and mortar fortifications with the ad- 
vantages belonging to ships-of-war for locomotion. The mere knowledge, by 
any enemy, that a harbour enjoyed the protection of such a formidable pro- 
tector, would be sufficient to deter them from hazarding an experiment of its 
omnipotence. 

Now, sir, it seems to me, when one of the most accomplished engineers and 
naval architects of America is willing to construct a war-ship for harbour de- 
fence, that we ought, without hesitation, to avail ourselves of his skill and enter- 
prise for such a purpose. 

Mr. Stevens is a gentleman of the highest attainments in those pursuits to 
which, with hereditary passion, he has devoted the greater part of his life. He 
is a gentleman of large fortune, and of reputation. He is not an ordinary 
speculator, seeking a job of Government, but a high-minded, patriotic gentle- 
man, who, from elevated and public considerations, and not from motives of pe- 
cuniary i)rotit, tenders his skill, science, and experience, (unsurpassed, in his 
department, by those of any one,) to the service of the Government. He is will- 
ing to connect his reputation with the navy of the country. He has acquired, 
by long years of experience and expensive experiments, a dexterity and felicity 
in design and execution in nautical architecture, which he is willing to place at 
the disposal of the Government. He docs not want to make money out of you ; 
but he desires to confer on the country the benefit of his superior knowledge, 
while, at the same time, he identifies his reputation with the naval history of 
the country. 

He is the builder and proprietor of the yacht Maria, which beat the America 
— which, under his brother. Commodore Stevens, achieved that victory over all 
the naval chivalry of Great Britain — a victory worthy to be enrolled with those 
other glorious triumphs of American naval valour during the war of 1812 
which liave done as much to elevate the national character, and inspire confi- 
dence and self-reliance in American prowess, as all your campaigns on shore, 
from Canada to the City of the Montezumas. 

The oS'er of such a man to render his skill available to the service of the 
country ought to be met with promptitude, alacrity, and liberality, by the 
Government. 

It is not proposed by Mr. Stevens to supersede the use of permanent local 
fortifications. No one thinks of substituting any floating-battery for them. 
The floating steam-battery which Mr. Stevens has projected is designed, not aa 
a substitute, but as an auxiliary to fortifications. They are fixed and stationary, 
and invaluable at certain points, where they command the channel of ingress 
for an enemy. In passing such fortresses, the enemy, except under favourable 
circumstances, may be destroyed or crippled; yet there is no certainty in any 
such result. In any such attempt by a powerful fleet of war-steamers, though 
some might be destroyed, others would be very likely, under the smoke raised 



APPENDIX E. 113 

by the broadsides from tbe fort and its opponent, to force an entrance into the 
interior harbour; then, without such a vessel as that contemplated ]>j the plan 
of Mr. Stevens, nothing could prevent the most disastrous consequences. 

Mr. Stevens's vrar-steamer, after an enemy had run the gauntlet of the Nar- 
rows, and become more or less crippled, would move upon him, and interpose 
an effectual barrier to his nearer approach. 

I have the utmost confidence that Mr. Stevens can accomplish all he proposes, 
if he is met by this Government in the proper spirit of fairness and liberality. 
He is no visionary, but a practical engineer and ship-builder, who has a high 
reputation at stalie, and which he is willing to risk for the benefit of the coun- 
try. He is incapable of undertaking to perform what he knows to be impracti- 
cable. I will now read from a work just published l)y the learned and accom- 
plished President of Columbia College, Mr. Charles King, in regard to Mr 
Stevens : — 

" The extent, variety, and value of Mr. R. L. Stevens's labours and inventions 
in mechanics should have more fitting commemoration than can be given in any 
passing notice by one unskilled, as is the writer of this, in the mechanic arts. 
Yet he cannot suffer this allusion to Mr. Stevens to go forth, without attempting 
at least to enumerate some of the many services and ingenious inventions and 
appliances of that gentleman in steam, in gunnery, and in mechanics. From 
the time when a mere boy, in 1804-05, he was zealously working in the machine- 
shop at Hoboken, up to the passing hour, he has given his time, his faculties, 
and his money to what may be justly described as experimental phUosophj ; and 
the results have been of great public benefit. Of some of them, the following 
chronological record may bear witness. 

"1842. Having contracted to build for the United States Government a large 
■war-steamer, shot and shell-proof, R. L. Stevens built a steamboat at Borden- 
town for the sole purpose of experimenting on the forms and curves of propeller- 
blades, as compared with side-wheels, and continued his experiments for many 
months, the result of which we may yet hope to see in an iron war-steamer that 
will be invincible, and so should be named. While occupied with this design, he 
invented, about 1844, and took a patent for, a mode of turning a steamship-of- 
war on a pivot, as it were, by means of a cross-pr(jpeller near the stern, so that 
if one battery were disabled she might, in an instant almost, present the other. 

" 1848. This year succeeded in advantageously using anthracite in fast pas- 
senger-locomotives. 

•' 1849. Witnessed the successful application of air under the bottom of steamer 
Johti Neilson, whereby friction is diminished, and she has actually gone at the 
rate of twenty miles an hour; this was the invention of R. L. Stevens and F. 
B. Stevens. The John Neilson also has another ingenious and effectual con- 
trivance of R. L. Stevens, first used in 1849, for preventing ill consequences 
from the foaming of the boiler. In conclusion of this dry and imperfect chro- 
nological recital of some of R. L. Stevens's contributions to the mechanic arts, 
to publ.c convenience and national power as well as renown, it must be added 
that Mr. Stevens is himself the modeller of all the vessels built by or for him, 
and that many of our fastest yachts are of his moulding; and especially the 
Maria, which beat without difficulty the victorious America, which, in her turn, 
carried the broom at her mast-head through the British Channel, distancing all 
competitors, as she continues to do, I believe, under her new owner, in the 
Mediterranean. 

"Of such a man not the mechanics only of our city, among whom he has 
worked and is well known, but the nation, may well be proud." 

I said that he had an "hereditary passion" for those pursuits to which he has 
devoted most of his life, and here, sir, my Stale pride may be pardoned, if I 
advert to the name of his honoured parent, to whose services in practicul engi- 
neering, mechanics, and other kindred departments, the country owes a debt 
which it is too late to liquidate now. 

Sir, John Stevens, of Hoboken, New Jersey, was one of the most extraordinary 



114 APPENDIX E, 

men of his aio, so prolific of groat men. He was the compeer of Fulton, and con- 
tributed his full proportion towards niakin<j steam that powerful locomotive a^ent 
■which it has become. Like Fulton and Oliver Evans, he was in advance (jf the aj^e 
in which he lived. Near fifty years ao;o heastonisiied and confounded a committee 
of the New Jersey Legislature by the prediction that the time would come when 
men would travel as fast as a pigeon could fly. They would hear him no 
longer; they turned from him with pity and incredulity; they told him, aa 
" Festus" told " St. Paul," " Much learning has made you mad." As he was 
in advance of his age in relation to the use of steam, so he was in relation to 
railroads. These ho used experimentally in his work-yards long before public 
attention was directed to their importance. He in vain solicited from the New 
Jersey Legislature permission to connect the waters of the Delaware and the 
Hudson many years before the Legislature would permit any such enterprise to 
be attempted. He did as much, if not more, than any other man to bring the 
steam-engine for locomotion to its present perfection. When his history is writ- 
ten, his name will rank with the names of Franklin, Fulton, Fitch, and Ritten- 
housc, among the greatest benefactors of his country and the human race. His 
genius and his fondness for practical engineering ho has transmitted to his sons, 
who are among the most eminent men in their vocation of which this or any 
other country can boast. It is for Congress now to say whether this Govern- 
ment shall avail itself of the services of such men in constructing just such 
vessels for national defence as the necessities of the naval service require. 

Had this Government taken by the hand Fulton and John Stevens fifty years 
ago, there is no telling how far we might now have been in advance of our 
rivals in many important elements of national power. 

The proposition now submitted to you is intimately connected with the na- 
tional defence and the growth and efficiency of your navy ; and I avail myself 
of the opportunity to make some general remarks on that subject. 

Sir, the recent victories of your armies seem to have obscured somewhat the 
splendour of your naval achievements. I entertain no apprehension, however, 
that the country will ever undervalue the importance of the navy as a sure reli- 
ance for the protection of the national honour and the vindication of national 
injuries. You are destined, (excuse the word,) but if you continue a united 
people you will be compelled, to become the greatest naval power which the 
world ever saw. Yet, apparently appalled at the expense to be incurred in any 
attempt to rival the lavish expenditures of England and France ou their navies, 
we seem to have been embarrassed as to what was the true course to be pur- 
sued. Steam has, as you have often been told, revolutionized war upon the 
ocean. The leviathan ships, with which Nelson annihilated the navy of Napo- 
leon at the Nile and Trafalgar, are no longer invincible. 

I hav(^ lt)'io tlxmglit that the improvement of our steam marine has not re- 
ceived from the countr}- and from Congress that attention which it deserves. 
There can be little doubt that we are at this moment more inferior as a naval 
power for purposes of immediate defence, compared with the offensive means 
possessed by other powerful nations, than we were forty years ago; while Eng- 
land, France, and Russia have of late years vied with each other in the creation 
of a formidable steam navy, we have been standing by comparatively passive. 
In the admiralty navy-list of 1850 of Great Britain is found one hundred and 
fifty war-steamers, and she is constantly building and launching others. In 
addition to these, siie has between sixty and seventy mercantile steamers capable 
of being converted into war-steamers, and whose war-equipments are all pre- 
pared. In further addition, she has upwards of eight huudred steamers capable 
of furnishing formidable assistance for coast defence. 

France, since 1815, has never lost sight of the importance of maintaining a 
navy ; she is, next after England, now the greatest naval power of the world. 
She had at the commencement of the present year one line-of-battle ship of 
ninety guns, with screw propeller; fourteen steam frigates, mounting from 
eight to sixteen guns of heavy ordnance, and many others of smaller size. We 
shall have in the navy of this great Republic — in a navy of a country whose 
people, and patriots, and statesmen, (some of them,) are ready to dictate a new 



APPENDIX E. 115 

code of laM's for the nations of the earth and to throw a firebrand into Europe, 
regardless of all consequences, war or no war — T say, sir, we shall have in our 
navy, when completed, five steam-frigates and two steam-sloops, mounting from 
six to ten guns. Sir, we had better be prepared for a fight before we attempt to 
bully. This disparity between our naval steam force and that of other powers 
is growing greater every year. Yet the tonnage of the United States engaged 
in foreign or domestic commerce, if we include that of our lakes and large 
rivers, is about equal to that of Great Britain, and far exceeds that of France 
or Russia. 

Now, these three facts being ascertained — first,our defenceless condition; second, 
the disparity of our naval power compared with that of the other great powers; 
third, the equality or superiority of our mercantile tonnage — it becomes a ques- 
tion of great magnitude what policy is it proper for us to adopt, so as to guard 
against immense and incalculable losses in case a sudden war should break out 
■with any of the great powers. 

My mind has been anxiously directed to this subject for many years, and I 
avail myself of this occasion to thruw out a few other suggestions in relation 
to it. 

This gigantic species of warfare it is utterly useless and impracticable, at any 
cost, to wage with the old-fashioned ships-of-the-line and frigates. Indeed, 
such vessels would only be built and sailed fur the benefit of the enemy. In the 
present improved condition of naval tactics and steam superiority of Great 
Britain, there can be no doubt that we must take new observations — a new lati- 
tude and di'parture — if we expect to protect our own shores. We must build a 
sufficient number of war-steamers which shall exceed any which she may have 
built : first, in celerity ; second, in their invulnerability ; and third, in their 
superior destructive qualities. 

We must build vessels which, in speed and power, will enable one of oui-s to 
cope with half a dozen of hers ; vessels, any one of which would be sufficient 
to enter any of her harbours and sail through or around any of her fleets. 

Now, Mr. President, all this is neither impracticable nor difficult ; and in 
Mr. Stevens you will find not the only American engineer and naval mechanic 
who can accomplish this great object. We have the coal and iron and all the 
raw materials which will enable us, with the aid of all the experience obtained 
by England and France in steam naval architecture, to commence, 7iow, efficient 
steps for the creation of a steam navy fully equal to any thing now afloat. 

But, sir, f)rthis purpose you must adopt an entirely new system of construct- 
ing your national vessels. By this I do not mean to reflect on the constructors 
in the navy; by no means. AH of them whom I have known would favourably 
compare with other naval architects ; especially, sir, would I place no one ahead 
of the able and accomplished naval constructor in Washington, Mr. Lenthal. 
You must appeal to the emulation of all the naval mechanics of the United 
States, so as to draw out the utmost capacity of that sagacious, skilful, and 
enterprising class. 

You must invite them all to enter the field of competition. I do not see why, 
by the offer of a bonus for each separate class of war-steamers proportioned to 
the magnitude of each vessel, or by some other plan similar in principle, you 
should not make available all the skill possessed by any of our American me- 
chanics fur the purposes of the Government. They are superior to those of any 
other nation. I have some knowledge of and entire confidence in the genius, 
the enterprise, and indomitable superiority of the American mechanic and arti- 
san. My avocations and favourite pursuits have brought me into personal, 
familiar, and confidential contact with them. I honour and respect them; 
and I speak with a confidence founded on knowledge when I say that they are 
superior to those of any nation or age ; and I say, furthermore, that the interests 
of our country in all those great pursuits in which we are most closely pressed 
with the rivalship of other nations, enjoying the benefit of cheap labour and 
more abundant capital, may be safely intrusted to their hands. But then you 
must give them the advantages which our own resources supply in the cheap 
raw materials of coal and iron. This you can readily do. You have only to 



116 Wpendix e. 

mlopt tlie homo valuation, or to assess your prpspnt ad valorem duty on the 
actual sales iu this country. By doing this you will violate no principle of the 
Constitution, no precept of the resolutions of 1708. You will only be obey- 
in<^ the dictates of an enlarged patriotism. Do but this, and you will rekindle 
your forge-fires and reopen your workshops, and our constitUf»nts in Xew Jersey 
and Peiuisylvauia and all over the country will once more hear the merry ring 
of thp anvil. Do hut this, and no f iroign war-steamer, nor English, nor French, 
nor Russian, will scream the hoarse notes of defiance on your coast or in your 
harbours: do but this, and you will put a fulcrum in the hands of the Ame- 
rican mechanics, by means of which they will move the world. 

Sir, that the}' are superior has been proved over and over again. Let the 
following extracts from a newspaper received this morning be added to the 
proofs. It has been proved by our clippers, whose unparalleled voyages round 
the world have recently astonished Europe ; it has l)een proved by the speed 
and superiority of the Collins line of steamers ; and it has been proved by the 
glorious victory of the yacht America : — 

"Quick Passage of the Witch of the Wave. 

"One of the London papers says: — A large American clipper-built ship, 
named the Witch of the Wave, Captain Millett, commander, has recently ar- 
rived in the East India Docks, London, from Canton, having made one of the 
most extraordinary and rapid voyages on record. She has also brought one of 
the most valuable cargoes of tea that, perhaps, ever entered the port of Lon- 
don, having on board no fewer than nineteen thousand chests of the choicest 
quality. She is nearly fourteen hundred tons burden, the size of our largest 
Indiamen, and was built at Salem, Massachusetts, in the course of la--t year. 
She proceeded to California, thence to Hong Kong, and sailed from Whampoa, 
near Canton, on the 5th of January : made the passage to Java in seven days 
and tw(>lve hours, then had the wind W. S. W. to N. W. for several days, with 
light trade-wind, and made the Cape in twenty-nine days. Then encountered 
strong easterly winds from the Western Islands, and took a pilot off the Dunge- 
ness on the 4th of April, making a passage from China to the Downs in ninety 
days, a trip surpassing the celebrated runs of the Oriental and Surprise, Ame- 
rican clippers. Had she not encountered the strong easterly winds up the 
Channel, she would have accomplished the voyage several days earlier. As it 
was, she was only four days beating up from the chops of the Channel to reach- 
ing the river, while some of our large vessels were nearly a fortnight doing the 
distance. The Witch of the Wave is the object of much interest as she lies in 
the dock. Her bows are similar to a large-sized cutter yacht. By tho above it 
■will be seen that she sailed round the world in ten months and a half, including 
loading and discharging at the above ports. The greatest distance she ran in 
twenty-four hours, on the voyage to London, was three hundred and thirty-eight 
miles." 

Another paragraph is in these words: — 

"Quite a sensation has been created in the English commercial world by the 
arrival of the American clipper-ship Witch of the Wave, at London, after a run 
of ninety days from Canton to the Downs — the shortest passage on record. Up 
to this period the British have retained a nominal advantage in the navigation 
of this route, one of their traders having accomplished the distance in a few 
days shorter than any American or other craft; but by this recent achievement 
of one of our clipper fleet, their last dream of fancied superiority has been 
dispelled." 

And another is as follows: — 

"The Yacht America in Parliament. 

"Colonel Peel, in a recent discussion of the Navy estimates, in the British 
House of Commons, took occasion to express his surprise that not one word 



APPENDIX E. 117 

had been said in reference to the circumstance of a foreign yacht having come 
to England, and, in the presence of the Queen herself, beaten some of the crack 
English sailing-vessels! That, Colonel Peel said, appeared to him a deeply- 
humiliating event. She was an American yacht, and was described as 'the 
race-horse of the ocean.' Colonel Peel confessed that he was wholly ignorant 
of nautical matters, although he was conversant with the pastime of horse- 
racing, and he flatters himself that he could appreciate such an expression as 
the 'blue ribbon of the turf,' as used by Mr. Disraeli. Whatever might be 
the sailing qualities of the American yacht, Colonel Peel declared that if such 
a defeat had been sustained by the English sailing-vessels at the Isle of Wight, 
there was not a true sportsman in England but would go to any expense to 
recover back the lost laurels. Colonel Peel stated that it was part of his creed 
that ' Britannia rules the waves,' but what became of the goddess on the day 
to which he alluded he could not say; but if she 'ruled the waves' at all on 
that occasion, she must surely have done so with a downcast look. Colonel 
Peel's remarks were received with cries of ' Hear, hear.' " 

I have alluded to those great sources of national wealth — iron and coal ; and, as 
they are so intimately connected with the defence of the country, a few more 
words in relation to them may not be amiss. It has been those products of her 
soil which has chiefly made Great Britain what she is, or was. These enabled 
her to fight the battles of despotism in Europe. These were the conquerors of 
a Napoleon. They are indispensable for defence, if not for national existence. 
The nation which possesses them in the greatest abundance, and can produce 
them the cheapest, must excel all others. They are infinitely more important 
now, as elements of national greatness and power, than ever before. The race 
of competition in this age, between civilized nations, depends upon their 
respective facilities for the use of steam. Steam on the ocean is to fight the 
battle of supremacy there; and steam on land, in the foctory and on the rail- 
road, is to decide the question of superiority in all the diversified pursuits of 
human life. 

Sir, we should look to them; we have them in abundance. There in the 
mountains of my own native State, and of her neighbour and sister, old Demo- 
cratic Pennsylvania, are the weapons with which alone your victory can be 
achieved. There are the materials from which your thunderbolts must be fabri- 
cated. There is the armory from which to clothe your warriors in an invincible 
panoply. Strike the rocks of these pregnant mountains, and streams of victo- 
rious legions will come forth at your bidding. There slumber the unforged fetters 
of the seas. You have but to fabricate them from the materials there abound- 
ing, and you may fling your chains upon old ocean's mane at will, and then you 
will need " no bulwarks, no towers along the steep." 

But I may be told, advocating the policy of encouraging the promotion of the 
production of iron, I am running counter to the principles of my party. Sir, I 
yield to no one in my sense of abiding obligation, while I represent a Demo- 
cratic State, faithfully to adhere to the Democratic standard of faith. But 
surely no one can justly accuse me of not being true to the Democratic party, 
while I act in accordance with the often-declared principles of Andrew Jackson, 
and of old Democratic Pennsylvania. There is nothing in the Democratic creed 
which forbids encouraging the promotion of that which is essential to national 
defence. Democracy, in my estimation, does not consist in giving or withhold- 
ing a per cent, above or below the average revenue duty. God help the Demo- 
cracy measured by such a standard ! With me, it is the first duty which I ac- 
knowledge to provide for the national defence. It was this elevated view of his 
duty which impelled the great Chatham to say that he would not permit America 
to manufacture a hob-nail. Sir, I hope the period is not distant when the cheap- 
ness of American iron and coal will not permit Great Britain to manufacture a 
hob-nail for us, or for any market where we can compete with them on equal 
terms. Democracy, as I understand, has more immediate reference to the con- 
struction of the powers of the Government rather than to the fluctuating policy 
of discriminating respecting the imposition of duties. That must be controlled 



118 4R>PENDIX E. 

by questions of expediency — by the changing modifications of the commercial 
and restrictive policy of other countries. But it is in the construction of the 
powers of the Government where Democracy has proved itself the bulwark of 
the Constitution and the Union. When the reign of terror was upon them — 
when the fathers of the Democratic party saw, under the rule <if the elder 
Adams, the rights of the States endangered, and every thing tending to the 
consolidati(m of all power in this Central Government — they promulgated what 
I have always considered, since I have directed my mind to political subjects, 
the true standard of Democratic faith. I allude to the Virginia and Ken- 
tucky resolutions of '98 and '99. Sir, I know that it is a custom with some 
politicians to indulge in sneers in relation to those resolutions, and to taunt 
those who respect them with being abstractionists, impracticables, and dreamy 
theorists. 

Sir, I care little what terms — whether Federalist, State-Rights, or Abstrac- 
tionist — are applied to me; but I will say what I believe, at the hazard of every 
consequence, personal or political, and without regard to popularity or unpopu- 
larit}-. The one has no charms to swerve me from what I consider right, and 
least of all has the other any terror. 

I will not say of popularity what Home Tooke said, — that if it was to come in 
my way "I would kick it out of my way;" but I will say that I trust I shall 
always have courage enough, of whatever sort may be needful, to despise any 
popularity, purchased by any dereliction of principle or any sacrifice of personal 
honour or independence. 

But, sir, the resolutions of '98 and '99 ! the resolutions ! I have to say of 
them that, in my opinion, they are the most valuable legacy, next after the Con- 
stitution, which the early patriots of the Republic have bequeathed to the country. 
They have, in my opinion, done more to preserve the Constitution from infrac- 
tion, and to keep this Government within its limits, than any other production 
of political wisdom from the day of their origin to this time. They have been 
the touchstone by which wild and visionary theories have l)een tested and found 
to be valueless or dangerous. They have been the light-houses along the stormy 
shoals and lireakers of polities — warning us of the only safe and smooth channel 
of navigation for the ship of state. 

I know well that their enemies have pretended to find in them the germ of 
nullification. But, sir, I perceive no such dangei'ous heresy in any of them. 
I see in them a plain, common-sense, practical scheme for the administration of 
this Government: — a scheme by means of which the Union and the Constitution 
may be preserved inviolate, the rights of the States respected, and the Govern- 
ment enal'led to exercise all those national functions designed to be performed 
by it; Avhile it is preserved and restrained within those barriers with which it 
is invested by the Constitution. 

Sir, as a citizen of a small State, which has as much to dread from a dissolu- 
tion of the Union as any other State of this Confederacy, I acknowledge my 
gratitude to the great men who promulgated those doctrines, and to their dis- 
ciples, who, since that time, have remained steadfast to the Democratic princi- 
ples they contain. Those are the principles by which I would have my Demo- 
cracy estimated; by them I will consider myself bound; upon them and the 
Constitution, a long time ago, I planted my standard. 

Thus much, sir, I have felt bound to say in vindication of myself as well as 
of the Democracy of the patriotic State which sent me here, in relation to the 
encouragement of the product of iron. 

"I hope I don't intrude," as Paul Pry said. I hope that I have not interfered 
with the prerogative of others — that I have not trespassed on the premises 
either of Young America, or old 

A Senator. — Fogy. 

[Mr. Stockton hesitated ; and, looking around to see who addressed him, 
continued,] 

I thank you, sir; but my memory did not fail me. No, sir; my tongue 
refused to utter the ungracious phrase. The instinctive power of my heart 
forbade it. 



APPENDIX E. 119 

Thank God for the inspiration ! 

[Turning to Gen. Cass, he said:] 

No, no, ''Conscriphis paier." I have, as an American citizen, neither the 
heart to conceive nor the tongue to speak any sentiment but that of the greatest 
personal respect and the highest admiration and appreciation of your long and 
faithful public services. May God prolong your life, and health, and mind, and 
may the spirit of your country's gratitude rest upon you ! 

Mr. President, some time since, in another place, I was as unexpectedly called 
upon as I have this moment been to say a few words in commendation of a dis- 
tinguished public man. That was put down an ''explosion," and this maybe 
recorded as " explosion second." Well, sir, I can have but little left, and I pro- 
pose now to finish the business of blowing myself up by making this declara- 
tion before the Senate and the country. Sir, I acknowledge my responsibility 
to the national Democracy with reference to national questions, respecting the 
rights of the States and the powers of this Government; but to New Jersey 
alone I hold myself responsible with reference to questions of a local or transi- 
tory character. 

Mr. President, I am done ; and if your able reporter will do me the justice 
which he has heretofore done to myself and all others, why then, sir, political 
quackery may make the most of it. 



Remarks of Honourable R. F. Stockton. 

In the Senate, on the 21st July, 1852, the resolution of the House in regard to 
the adjournment of Congress was taken up and elicited a spirited debate. In 
the course of it, Mr. Stockton rose and said : — 

Mr. President : — Being one of the humblest members of this august body 
of the Representatives of the Federal Republic, I have been slow to participate 
in this discussion, and certainly should have said nothing on the subject if it 
had been confined to the mere question of agreeing to a day of adjournment. 
But a question has been connected with this discussion which seems to render 
it my imperative duty, as a Representative of the State of New Jersey, to say a 
few words in relation thereto. In the first place, however, I must say that I do 
not concur in the reproaches which have been cast upon the other branch of 
Congress on account of any supposed delay in their business. If any delay 
has occurred, the reason is to be found in the great amount of business which 
Congress has had to consider and to act upon. 

Nor am 1 disposed tt) find fault with any of the discussions which have taken 
place on the sulject of Presidential candidates. They have been mostly inte- 
resting, and I do not know that they have interfered with the business of Con- 
gress. The business of Congress requires reflection and information, which is 
not to be attained in this chaml^er alone. So far as I am concerned, sir, my 
mind has been more devoted to the consideration of the public business in my 
own than in the Senate Chamber. Therefore, so far as my voice goes, I am 
ready to acquit both Houses of Congress of any neglect of their appropriate 
duties. The delay, if any, has been caused by the amount and the importance 
of the business we have had before us. Though I am as desirous of returning 
to the bosom of my family as any member of this body can be, I would prefer 
that the resolution should lie on the table for the present, and until I can see 
more clearly the probable time when we may hope to finish the public business 
in a satisfactory manner to our constituents as well as ourselves. 

Mr. President, I had no disptisition to discuss this question, and but for the 
exciting speech made by the senator from South Carolina, (Mr. Butler,) I should 
have remained silent. The senator from Tennessee (Mr. Bell) spoke of the im- 
portance of the harbour and river bill ; and another senator s|ioke of the im- 
portance of the tariff bill. With regard to the first I have but little to say at 



120 #n»PENDIX E. 

present, except to concur in its importance. With regard to the tariff, I must 
be permitted to say that I regard it of m<jre consequence to my cunstituents 
than any other bill which has been, during the session, or is now, pending before 
Congress. The tariff — ay, sir, the tariff! — the mere mention of which startles 
gentlemen from their propriety, and drives them headlong into the question of 
the dissolution of the Unic^n. 

I have to tell such gentlemen, let them come from where they will, or repre- 
sent whom they may, that there are two sides to the question of the tariff; and, 
Democrat as I am, I intend that, on all proper occasions, my voice shall be 
raised in the Senate and out of the Senate in behalf of the poor labimrer of the 
North ; and he who represents the slave-labour of the South may raise his voice 
as potential as he sees tit, he will not alarm, but find me prepared, to the best 
of my poor ability, to defend the interest of the free labourer of the North. 
But, sir, do iiot misunderstand me. J repudiate the doctrine of a tariff for the 
purpose of protectimj one interest more than another interest, one section more than 
another section. We are not to consider the interests of fragments, but of the 
WHOLE PEOPLE : not of States, but the nation. Sir, we must seek for some 
sound, well-settled principle upon which to rebuild this theory of a tariff. 

The President. — The Chair must remind the senator from New Jersey that 
the question is not upon the tariff, or upon any other bill. 

Mr. Stockton. — I am .aware of that, sir. 

The President. — The senator can allude to the subject of the tariff generally ; 
but it will not be in order, upon the present question, to go into the merits or 
demerits of any tariff. 

Mr. Stockton. — What I mean to say is this: that the tariff bill is a matter of 
so much consequence that it behooves Congress not to adjourn without modify- 
ing it; an;^ I give that as a reason why we cannot now fix a day for adjourn- 
ment. Besides, sir, the tariff bill to which I allude is not for protection of 
manufacturers ; it is not to be a tariff exclusively for revenue ; but it is intended 
to protect millions of our fellow-citizens who earn their bread by the toil of 
their own hands. 

I can tell the senator from South Carolina that their interests are not much 
longer to l)e disregarded. Sir, this Government may survive the effects of the 
most disastrous battles ; we may regain lost territory ; but I tell him and others 
to be warned in time that we may not be able to resist the importunate remon- 
strances of a free but impoverished and degraded people. 

Mr. Butler. — The senator from New Jersey is under a great mistake. I made 
not the least allusion to the tariff. However, I suppose he may as well hang 
his speech on what I said as on what was said by any other senator. I cer- 
tainly made no allusioo to ;he tariff — not in the least. 

Mr. Stockton. — What 1 meant to say is this : that the tariff belongs to the 
business of Congress, and is entitled to as much of our time as any other matter. 
If the senator from South Carolina did not speak of "free trade," if he did not 
make use of that expression which naturally leads to the ct)nsideration of the 
whole subject of a tariff, then I stand before the Senate corrected. 

Several senators. — lie did — he did. 

Mr. Butler. — 1 wish to correct the gentleman. I believe that, if he chose to 
take the remark which I made in that view, he might have used it for the pur- 
pose of dilating upon the subject. I think, however, that the subject of the 
tariff was freely spoken of by the senator from Alabama ; and the remarks of 
that senator, it appears to me, might have afforded the senator from New Jersey 
a better text than my remark in regard to '' free trade." The connection in 
which I spoke of free trade — and 1 hope the senator from New Jersey, while 
he is in favour of the tariff, will not undertake to controvert the great doctrines 
of free trade — was in relation to California. Though that, as far as I know, 
does not involve the tariff, yet, in candour to the senator, I must ailmit that I 
did speak oi' California as a probable ally against one which might be a pro- 
scriptive and protective tariff. M_y remark may allow that interpretation, but 
I used it at the time with no such puipose. 

1 did not wish to introduce into this debate any topic which did not properly 



APPENDIX E. 121 

and legitimately relate to the suLjeet. I did, perhaps, manifest some little 
temper, because I thought that some topics had been introduced here which 
ought not to be introduced, I will not say deliberately, but perhaps inadvert- 
ently. I think the senator from New Jersey is at liberty to make his remarks 
both in regard to what was said by the senator from Alabama and myself; for 
I believe we both, in some measure, said something in relation to the question 
of a tariff, though all that I said was a mere allusion, in the most casual way, 
to the suliject of free trade. 

Mr. Stockton. — All that was necessary to fill the measure of my surprise on 
hearing the senator's explanation was for him to have added, that what he did 
say was said in the most amiable and unescitable and courteous manner. He 
put some interrogatory in regard to free trade. I do not remember its precise 
purport. But, sii', I am willing to confess my homage to the sublime and simple 
truths of Adam Smith and the disciples of that school of political economists. 
I will go further, and say that I believe all the efforts that have been urged 
against his leading doctrines and those of Ricardo on rent have failed ; but their 
application to this country in its present condition, in relation to the rest of the 
world and in reference to the commercial policy of other nations, is an entirely 
different question — the great question. 

It does appear to me (not designing any thing ofiensive) the most absurd thing 
in the world is to be wrangling and quarrelling about the abstract tlieories of 
free trade when we have staring us in the face the necessity of raising fifty mil- 
lions of annual revenue, which has, since the origin of Government, and must 
continue to be, almost entirely obtained from duties on imports. Now, sir, 
what I claim is the right, as a Representative of New Jersey, interested as she is 
in the development of her iron, not to allow any reproach as to its importance, 
any insinuation as to its unconstitutionality, or any sneer at efforts made to 
modify the tariff without remarks from me. I hope, before the session is over, that 
gentlemen will have to face the music on that same question of the tariff. We 
mean, if we can, to get it up before the Senate, and we intend to explain to the 
Senate and to the people our objects, views, and motives in doing it. New 
Jersey means to insist that you shall unlock the hoards of treasure which slum- 
ber in the mountains that traverse her territory as that of a sister State. 

She means to insist that, by doing so, you will not violate the Constitution. 
You will only be fulfilling your obligations to further other interests besides 
those of commerce and agricultui-e ; and I say this to show the importance of 
sitting two months longer rather than avoid this great question. 

Mr. Hunter. — I am constrained to ask if it is in order to debate the tariff on 
this resolution? 

The President. — Certainly not ; but the Chair was unwilling to interrupt the 
honourable senator. 

Mr. Stockton. — I am very much obliged to the senator ; but if he had taken 
the same trouble to arrest the extraordinary excitement of his own friend he 
would not have had occasion to interfere in my behalf. (Laughter.) I did not 
intend to say a word about the day of adjournment. But, sir, you may expect 
to wake up New Jersey whenever the tarifl" is agitated; you may then look out 
for her. (Laughter.) I will now relieve you, Mr. President, by no longer per- 
sisting in this debate. 



Remarhs of Mr. Stockton, of New Jersey, on the Indian 
Appropriation Bill. 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AUGUST 11, 1852. 

The Senate proceeded to consider, as in Committee of the Whole, the bill from 
the House of Representatives " making appropriations for the current and cou- 



122 ^APPENDIX E. 

tinjxont oxponsos of tho Indian Department, and for fulfilling treaty stipulations 
with various Indian tribes, for the j'ear ending June 30, 1853." 

Tiie first qui'stion vas on concurring in the following clause, adopted as in 
Coniniittce of the Whole, in relation to the California siiperintendeiicy : — "for 
presents and provisions for Indians visiting the su]>erintendency, S3000." 

Mr. Weller. — Mr. President, I move to strike out tiiat clause, and to insert the 
following : — 

" For the purpose of purchasing supplies and presents, to be distriljuted to the 
Indians in tiie State of California, under the direction of the President of the 
United States, the sum of $100,000." 

In my judgment this appropriation will be absolutely necessary in order to 
prevent a large body of Indians in California from starving during the approach- 
ing year. Tliey have been brought down from the mountains, from their accus- 
tomed homes, and settled upon the reservations that were made by the Indian 
commissioners, in the eighteen treaties that were negotiated with the different 
tribes. Tiiose treaties have all been rejected by the Senate, and it is therefore 
necessary, in my judgment, that some provision should be made for them in 
order to avoid hostilities. It will be a very difficult thing to explain to these 
Indians how it comes that these treaties which they entered into with persons 
who represented themselves as agents of the Government have now been repu- 
diated. They will be compelled, as a matter of course, in consequence of the 
rejection of the treaties by the Senate, to leave these reservations upon which 
they have been placed by the Indian commissicmers. It is, therefore, proposed 
in lieu of a confirmation of those treaties ; the object being to appease the In- 
dians by providing them with subsistence. They have been driven, as I said, 
from that section of the State where it was their liabit to live on acorns and the 
fruits found in the woods, and they must inevitably starve unless some pro- 
vision be made for them. For that purpose I hope the Senate will adopt the 
amendment. 

After an interesting debate, in which Messrs. Weller, Dawson, Badger, Bell, 
Butler, Mallory, Hunter, Cass, and Underwood, participated, — 

Mr. Stockton said: — 

Mr. President, 1 approved of the proposition first made by the senator from 
California (Mr. W^eller) to amend the amendment now before the Senate, and I 
regret that he has seen fit to accept any modification of it w'hatever. It did ap- 
pear to me, that the principles on which he founded his application were based 
on such grounds as we may well suppose would govern the understanding and 
the heart of a distinguished American senator or an American statesman. 

Sir, I have not been mu(;h surprised at the course which the debate on this pro- 
position has taken. Having heard the discussions in regard to these Indian appro- 
priations from tiie first, I was prepared for opposition to any donation to them. 
But, I have been astonished by the enunciation of some of the princijdes on 
which the judgment of senators relative to the course best to bo pursued as to the 
Indians has been predicated. It has been stated here that this Government is 
under no obligations, no responsibility, to the Indians; that my friend — the 
friend of the California Indians — seeks to obtain from this Government a dona- 
tion for them, which the Government is under no sort of obligation to give. Ay, 
sir, the little, which by the great exertions of their friends, has been extorted 
from you, has been only yiehled with growls and threats that you were under 
no obligations to grant it. I dissent from all the reasonings founded upon the 
proposition as amemled by the senator from Virginia. Sir, I go for that propo- 
sition which acknowledges in their length and breadth our obligations as Ameri- 
can citizens to repair, as far as we may, the wrongs of an injured people. You 
have obligations wiiich it is not quite so easy to get rid of, either in your na- 
tional or in your individual character, as senators or as Ciiristians. Sir, let me 
tell you that you have respoiisiliilitics with regard to the Indians that it would 
be well for you if all the money in your Treasury could satisfy. Ay, sir, we 
might well thank God if money could enable us to appease the great spirit of 
retributive justice. The principle contained in the amendment, which negatively 



APPENDIX E. 123 

B ledges us to do no more, is one -which I repudiate from the bottom of my soul, 
•o gentlemen ask if we design by this amendment to establish a principle that 
shall govern this country in all time to come? I answer, and say, Ves. I go 
further, and say, that so long as there is a dollar in your Treasury, lialf of it, if 
necessary, should go to relieve the distress of the aborigines of the country. 

Mr. President, while I stand here in this Capitol and remember that it has 
been erected upon the soil, the blood, and the bones of the Indians, and on the 
ashes of their wigwams, am I to be told, here in this Senate, that the laws of the 
land — of this Christian land — will not permit me to vote money from the public 
Treasury to ease their distress .and relieve the misery of that unfortunate race? 
Sir, under no obligations to take care of the California Indians ! AVhat do sena- 
tors mean ? You are under most indissoluble bonds to take care of tliem. Justice 
— justice — inexorable justice — demands it. It is not for me to express in words 
your obligations. They may be seen in bloody tracks over the mountains and 
across the plains ; they are engraved on every Christian heart. Sir, it may do 
in the general course of legislation, fur those who have a clean bill uf health, to 
make such prescriptions for the body politic as may be found in the strict con- 
struction of the Constitution. But, sir, when we come here, in this temple of 
liberty, our hands reeking with the blood of the savage, does it become us to 
prate about law, constitutional or divine, in defence of violent aggression? No, 
no ; we have nothing to do but to relieve, fully and substantially relieve, the 
misfortunes we have been the means (innocent, if you please) of creating, and 
feel consoled if in that way we can alleviate the distresses we have inflicted. 

But, sir, with regard to the proposition now immediately before the Senate, I 
will say that, if I understand the object of the senator from California, it is to 
place at the disposal of the President of the United States the sum of $100,000 
for the purpose of preventing starvation among a certain portion of the Indians 
in that State. Now, sir, considering the responsibility of that gentleman as a 
senator from California, and that this money is to be disbursed by the Presi- 
dent, I am ready to give my vote for the appropriation of $100,000, or any other 
reasonable sum, for such a purpose. But we are told that this donation of 
$100,000 to-day, will establish a precedent which will bind this Government 
ever after to do the same thing. That is just exactly the thing I desire to do — the 
principle which I desire to establish. It is exactly the principle which I think 
we should proclaim to the world. Sir, wherever money will save the life of an 
Indian, or wherever or whenever it can secure his confidence and friendship, it 
should not be withheld. But, after all, the difficulty is not, as it seems to me, 
so much in any difi'erence of opinion as to what is due the Indians, as how it is 
to be paid. The real difficulty has not yet been pointed out in regard to the 
Indians. The fault is not with the Indians, but in the Indian agents ; and, sir, 
if money has been improperly expended, it is the fault of the Government offi- 
cers or agents, and they should be held accountable, and not let the Indiana 
suffer in consequence of their delinquencies. AVill you, then, make the Indian 
suffer because your Government does not employ agents who are sufficiently 
just, wise, and honest, properly to expend the money which is appropriated ? 
Certainly not ; you cannot do that. You will not commit so great a wrong ! 

Mr. President, the simple question is, whether, under all the circumstances of 
this case, the Indians are entitled to our protection ; and whether, if you cannot 
make him work, or keep the peace without, you are bound to protect and feed 
him ? Sir, having taken his lands from him, how can you complain if he will 
not work and feed himself? Having taken all that you saw fit to take, you ease 
your conscience for taking what he did not want to give, by offering him land 
which he does not wish to receive. Sir, no one can appreciate the sufferings 
and sacrifices of the Indians, but those who, like myself and the senator from 
California, have witnessed them in joy and in sorrow, who like us have seen 
them in their prosperity, in their freedom, and in the free enjoyment of all their 
possessions, given to them by God ; have seen them in the hauglity independ- 
ence of their nature — and in their servile attitude of petitioners — bowing the 
knee to their white, despotic, and cruel masters. 

Sir, if chance, or accident, or any other thing, had taken you across the Rocky 



124 APPENDIX E. 

jMonntains some few years since, you ■would have passed through tribes of men — 
Imliaiis you may call them: al)()rigines they are of this country; prou 1, hos- 
pitalile, high-minded, noble, gallant men: men as free as I was — ay, sir, freer. 
The Snakes and Sioux were as free as the air they breathed, and walke(\ with 
as proud and mighty a step as any of God's created beings. Let senators not 
suppose that I am drawing on my fancy for this picture of the Sioux and the 
Snake Indians. They were at that time as gallant, as noble, p.,3 generous, and 
as hospitable men as any who live, or I know notiiing of human life or charac- 
ter. I go further: they were in the full possession and unannoyed enjoyment 
of their liunting-grounds, in the enjoyment of peace, tranquillity, and happiness, 
under the direction of their own independent and brave chiefs. From St. 
Joseph's, in Missouri, to the Pacific, there was one great community of nature's 
children, happy and content. But, alas, what is their condition now? Sad, sad I 
Your armies of emigrants have traversed annually their territorj^ and driven 
away their game, and eaten up their pastures, until death and starvation stare 
them in the face. They have lost their game, and they are sorrowful ; they have 
lost their country, and they are indignant and revengeful. I persuaded them 
to peace ; they agreed, but implored that their great ftither, — a father, indeed, — 
as he had destroyed their hunting-grounds, would, at least, give them lands 
fit for agriculture, and implements of husbandry, and persons to instruct them 
in the art of raising bread. But w/iat has the father done? These people must 
all leave their usual hunting-grounds, and who is to care for them ? 

Sir, after these armies of men have crossed the mountains, and arrived in 
California, their first business seems to be to drive off or kill the Indians. 
There is not a brute that walks on the face of the earth that has been so much 
contemned and despised and cruelly treated as have been these Indians from the 
time of the first invasion up to the present time. These Indians of California 
are spread over the whole mountainous part of that State. When we took pos- 
session, we found them a kind and docile but not a warlike people, comparatively 
contented and happy, and friends. We have driven them from their homes; 
have despoiled them of their property, and expelled them from the mines. AVhat 
wonder that they are hostile? From this very land of theirs we have taken 
millions on millions of gold, and now, when we are asked to appropriate 
$100,000 to save them from starving, the Constitution of the United States is 
invoked to prevent it. Yes, sir, that sacred instrument is invoked, and thrust 
between us and our consciences and our dearest sensibilities. It was invoked 
yesterday to save the white man, and to-day it is invoked to destroy the Indians. 
If the Constitutiun of the United States forbids me from aiding, by an appro- 
priation of money, to save the California Indians from starving, — if it should 
step, with blasphemous intrusion, between me and those sacred feelings of our 
nature which God and nature's God has planted in the breast of pour human 
nature, — then I say that {here the senator paused) — my friends will know where 
to find me in regard to the construction of that instrument. 

But, sir, the Constitution of my country tells me no such thing. Its whole 
spirit breathes a spirit of philanthropy and love to men everywhere. It is 
universal love, as t\ell as universal freedom, which is taught by the Constitution 
of the United States. Sir, so far from considering this as a donation, — so far 
from considering this proposition, which asks you to give but §100,000, as an 
extrucayant donation, — I hold that you are bound by all your responsibilities as 
men and as Christians, by all your responsibilities as senators and statesmen, to 
protect thcan, cost what it may. 

That there may be no misapprehension about this amendment, I will repeat 
what 1 take to be its object, its essence. It is to save the Indians in California 
from starvation. We are told tliat there are seventy thousand Indians in a 
starving condition in California. I believe it; and these are the Indians of 
whom 1 have endeavoured to draw a feeble picture, and to whom I feel that we 
are so much indebted, and for whom we cannot do too much. But it is said 
that this bill has not come up in a proper shape; that if we pass this appropria- 
tion we shall be setting a precedent hereafter to be followed, and therefore that 
it ou- lit not to be passed. We are further informed that even if it were a thing 



APPENDIX E. 125 

proper to be done, that $100,000 would not be enough to answer the purpose, 
and therefore it should not pass. Some gentlemen would not have it done be- 
cause it is not entirely in accordance with their parliamentary notions and their 
technical ideas ; others say that it is opposed to their views of proper economy 
in the administration of this Government. Well, sir, are these sufficient reasons 
to defeat the passage of this bill, or to retard for a single day the passage of the 
proposed amendment? No, sir ! 

Let me again remind senators that, while we are endeavouring to settle differ- 
ences of opinion on matters of form and parliamentary etiquette, the Indians in 
California are starving. 

In concluding these wholly unpremeditated remarks, I must be permitted to 
reiterate these painful truths: — that you have destroyed the homes of these peo- 
ple, devastated their villages; you have taken away their occupation, and have 
extracted millions of gold from their mines ; and that you are bound by every 
principle of duty to make this appropriation of $100,000 — ay, sir, and $500,000 
more, if necessary, to preserve peaceful relations with them, or to keep them fivm 
starvation. 



Remarks of the Hon. R. F. Stockton, of New Jersey, 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, DECEMBER 14, 1852, 

On the adoption of the following resolutions offered by the Hon. John Davis, 
of Massachusetts: — 

" Resolved, That the Senate has received with profound sensibility the annun- 
ciation from the President of the death of the late Secretary of State, Daniel 
Webster, who was long a distinguished member of this body. 

^'■Resolved, That the Senate will manifest its respect for the memory of the 
deceased, and its sympathy with his bereaved family, by wearing the usual 
badge of mourning for thirty days. 

" Resolved, That these proceedings be communicated to the House of Repre- 
sentatives." 

Mr. Stockton said: — 

Mr. President : — I was prevented from coming to Washington until this morn- 
ing. After travelling all night, 1 hastened here to take my seat, wholly un- 
apprised of the intention of the senator from Massachusetts to introduce the 
resolutions now before the Senate. 

It would, therefore, not become me, nor the solemnity of the occasion, to 
mingle, unprepared as I needs must be, my voice in the eloquent lamentation, 
which does honour to the Senate, for any other purpose than merely briefly to 
express my grief, my sorrow, my heartfelt, unaffected sorrow, for the death of 
Daniel Webster. 

Senators, 1 have known and loved Daniel Webster for thirty years. What 
wonder, then, I sorrow? But now that I am on my feet for that purpose, and 
the Senate, who knew and loved him, too, are my listeners, how am 1 to express 
that sorrow? 1 cannot do it. It cannot be done. Oh! sir, all words in moments 
such as these, when love or grief seeks utterance, are vain and frigid. 

Senators, I can even now hardly realize the event, that Daniel Webster is 
DEAD — that he does not "still live." 

I did hope that God, who has watched over this Republic, who can do all 
things, "who hung the earthen nothing," who so endowed the mind of Daniel 
Webster, would still longer have upheld its frail tenement, and kept him as an 
example to our own men and to tlie men of the whole world. 

Indeed, it is no figure of speech when we say that his fame was " world-wide." 

But, senators, I have risen to pronounce no eulogy on him. I am up for no 
such vain purpose. I come with no cereiujny. I come to the portals of his 



126 Appendix e. 

grave, stricken with sadness, l)ofore the assembled Senate, in the presence of 
friends and senators, (fur whether they he of this side of the Chamber or the 
other side of the Chamber, I hope I am entitled to call every senator my friend,) 
to niino;lL' my grief with the grief of those around me. But I cherish no hope 
of adding one gravel-stone to the colossal column he has erected for himself. I 
•would only place a garland of friendship on the bier of one of the greatest and 
best men I ever knew. 

Senators, you have known Mr. Webster in his public character, as a states- 
man of almost intuitive perceptions, as a lawyer of unsurpassed learning and 
ability, as a ripe and general scholar. But it was my happiness to know him, 
also, as a man, in the seclusion of private life ; and in the performance of 
sacred domestic duties, and of those of reciprocal friendship, I say, in this pre- 
sence, and as far as my voice may reach, that he was remarkable for all those 
attributes which constitute a generous, magnanimous, courageous, hospitable, 
and high-minded man. Sir, as f\ir as my researches into the history of the 
world have gone, they have failed to discover his superior. Not even on the 
records of ancient Greece, or Rome, or of any other nation, are to be found the 
traces of a man of superior endowments to our own Webster. 

Mr. President, in private life he was a man of pure and noble sentiments, 
and eminently kind, social, and agreeable, lie was generous to a fault. Sir, 
one act of his — one speech of his made in this chamber — placed him before all 
men of antiquity. lie offered himself — yes, you all remember, in that seat there, 
he rose and offered himself a living sacrifice for his country. And Lord Bacon 
has said that he who offers himself as a sacrifice for his country is a sight for 
angels to look upon. 

Mr. President, my feelings on this occasion will not surprise senators who 
remember that these are no new sentiments for me ; that when he was living I 
had the temerity to say that Daniel Webster was the greatest among men and 
a true patriot — ay, sir, when the expression of such opinions might have inter- 
fered with political aspirations imputed to me. Well, sir, if an empire had 
then been hanging on my words, I would not have amended or altered one 
sentiment. 

Having said thus much for the dead, allow me to express a word of thanks to 
the honourable senator from Michigan, (Mr. Cass.) Sir, I have often had occa- 
sion to feel sentiments of regard, and, if he will permit me to say it, of affec- 
tionate regard for him, and sometimes to express them ; but the emotions cre- 
ated in my heart by his address this morning are not easily expressed. I thank 
him — in the fulness of my heart I thank him ; and may God spare him to our 
country many y^ars. Maj' he long remain here in our midst as he is at this 
day, in all the strength of manhood and in all the glory of matured wisdom 1 



JRemarks of 31r. Stockton^ of New Jersey, on 3Ir. llerriiveiher's 

Resolution. 

DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AUGUST 11, 1852. 

The following resolution of Mr. Merriwether was taken up for consideration 
by the Senate on the 14th of August : — 

"Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to inform the 
Senate what amount of public money has been paid to General Winfield Scott and 
General Franklin Pierce, respectively, from the time of their first entrance into 
the public service up to the present date, distinguishing between regular and 
extra compensation ; also, for what said amounts were paid, Avhetlier for pay 
pi'ui)er, rations, forage, horses, mileage, transportation, servants, quarters, fuel, 
medical attendance, or commutation for any of the preceding items ; also, that 
he inform the Senate what amount of extra compensation has been claimed by 
either, the items of each and every such claim when first presented, and when 



APPENDIX E. 127 

and by whom allowed or rejected, and the official reasons given at the time for 
such allowance or rejection, and whether any item or items, claim or claims,- 
once disallowed, were subsequently presented for payment, and if so, how often 
and when, and if subsequently allowed or paid, by whom and when, and the 
amounts thereof, and the reasons for such allowance, and the amounts thereof;, 
and that he also inform the Senate whether either of the above-named gene- 
rals has received from the public treasury pay or emoluments for discharging 
the duties of more than oue office or employment at the same time, and if so, 
what offices or enifdoyments, and the amount of such pay and emoluments, and 
the time when paid, and whether any claim or claims have been presented for 
the discharge of the duties of two or more offices or employments at the same 
time by either of them, and disallowed, and if so, by whom disallowed, when 
and for what reasons then given ; and that he also inform the Senate whether 
either of the above-named generals has ever, under colour of charging for per- 
centage, or for extra compensation, or for any other reason or reasons, or in 
any manner or form, applied to his own use, or retained in his hands, any of 
the public funds or property without authority of law, and if so, when and the 
amount or value thereof, and whether the amount thus applied or retained, or 
any part thereof, has ever been repaid to the United States, and if so, what 
amount and when so repaid, and whether any amount of public money or pro- 
perty, which has ever come to the hands or possession of either of them, remains 
unaccounted for, and if so, in whose hands and how much." 

The resolution having been discussed by Senators Douglas, Weller, Brad- 
bury, Jones, Soule, Underwood, Butler, Clemens, and Adams, 
Mr. Stockton said : — 

This is not the first occasion, Mr. President, that I have had the misfortune 
to differ from views expressed by my political friends. It has always been a 
source of some regret to do so ; it is especially grievous to me to-day. I find 
myself compelled to dissent from the course which my distinguished friend from 
Louisiana (Mr. Soule) has indicated that his duty constrains him to take. I 
have some relief, however, from this embarrassment in the persuasion that his 
own sentiments of personal honour and patriotism, as far as they are connected 
with this subject, do not differ materially from mine. If they did, I should cer- 
tainly distrust my own instincts and judgment, so far at least as to remain 
silent. But, supposing that my honourable ft-iend, in following the example of 
others, has mistaken his true position, and placed the defence of his vote on 
political and party grounds alone, and believing likewise that others of my 
honourable friends here have taken the same erroneous view of this subject, 
and have looked upon it only in one aspect, I shall venture, even though I have 
already heard from them a general expression of opinion in favour of the reso- 
lution, to make an appeal to both sides of this chamber to uphold the dignity 
of the Senate, and to lay both the resolution and the amendment upon the 
table. 

Sir, gentlemen have discoursed upon this subject as if they had no other obli- 
gations in the world except those which are due as party men to General Scott 
and General Pierce, or to their respective political parties. 

Now, sir, permit me to say that I stand here this morning as a senator of the 
United States, and not merely as a politician ; and that while I bear in remem- 
brance the long line of grave, dignified, and distinguished men and patriots 
who have served their country in this Senate, I cannot consent to act or vote 
upon any measure arising in this body solely on party grounds, or upon any 
such principles as those assumed by some of my distinguished friends upon 
this occasion. I have, as a senator, nothing to do with the party interests or 
affinities of General Scott or General Pierce in the discussion of this question. 
I care but little about either one or the other in comparison with my duty to 
the Senate and the country. In this matter I care nothing about party politics. 
Mr. President, upon another occasion and in another place I said that my party 
robes hung loosely upon my shoulders whenever the honour, the interest, and j 
the welfare of my country were at stake ; and now, sir, here before this Senate I 

22 1 



128 APPENDIX E. 

and before the people I say that my party robes will hang loosely upon my 
shoulders whenever the honour, the dignity, and usefulness of this august body, 
in my judgment, may depend upon any vote of mine. 

Sir, is this the arena to discourse on the subject of party politics, or to indulge 
in personal commendation or vindictive aspersion? I say no. Party politics 
is a business that our constituents never expected or desired ua to waste their 
time upon here. It is a small business, which the Democratic party do not expect 
or wish us to meddle with ; and, if I have not wrongly estimated their virtue, 
and wisdom, and patriotism, they would prefer that we should lay the resolu- 
tion and the amendment upon the table rather than that we should do any thing 
to impair public confidence in the exalted reputation and dignity of this body. 
But it is said that there is a Whig precedent for this resolution. Then let us 
put the brand of Democratic disapprobation upon it. I move that the whole 
subject be laid on the table. 

Mr. Underwood. — Will the honourable senator allow me to say a word ? It 
will be very short, and I will renew the motion. 

Mr. Stockton. — No, sir ; I cannot withdraw the motion. 

Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Merriwether asked for the yeas and nays on the mo- 
tion ; and they were ordered, and, being taken, resulted — yeas 20, nays 23 — aa 
follow : — 

Yeas — Messrs. Adams, Bayard, Bell, Brooke, Butler, Chase, Davis, De Saus- 
sure, Foote, Geyer, Hunter, James, Mallory, Pearce, Smith, Stockton, Sumner, 
Underwood, Upham, and Wade — 20. 

Nays — Messrs. Atchison, Borland, Bradbury, Bright, Cass, Charlton, Cle- 
mens, Dodge, of Wisconsin, Dodge, of Iowa, Douglas, Downs, Felch, Hamlin, 
Jones, of Tennessee, Merriwether, Norris, Sebastian, Seward, Soule, Spruance, 
Toucey, Walker, and Weller — 23. 

So the motion was not agreed to. 



Before his death, Mr. Cooper wrote a " Continuation of his Naval History," 
from which we make a brief extract. 

Mr. Cooper, giving a detailed account of the operations of the navy in the 
"Conquest of California," says: — 

"Throughout the whole of the foregoing movements. Commodore Stockton 
exhibited great activity, energy, and spirit. He and his ship seem to have been 
everywhere ; and, whatever may be the decision of military etiquette as between 
the rival competitors for the command of this successful expedition against the 
enemy's capital, there can be no misapprehension on one subject, and that is, 
that Commodore Stockton was in the thickest of the fight and animated his 
men not only by his presence, but by a very brilliant personal example. 

" Commodore Stockton virtually assumed the command near the close of 
July, and the whole of the succeeding five months was, on his part, a scene of 
as great exertion and of as bold assumption of responsibility as ever character- 
ized the service of any man under the flag. We conceive the whole of those 
movements, marked as they were by so much decision and enterprise, to have 
been highly creditable to the American arms, and particularly so to that branch 
of the service of which we are writing." — Naval History. 



Speech of Commodore Stockton, delivered in the State-House, Trenton, 
New Jersey, at the reception of Mr. Webster by the members of the 
Legislature, March, 1852. 

Senators and Gentlemen of the Assembly, and Fellow-Citizens : — You 
may perhaps imagine that I am very fond of making speeches. It is, therefore, 
proper for me to say that this is not the time or the occasion I should have 



APPENDIX E. 129 

selected for such a purpose. I am altogether unprepared; I did not, I could 
not have anticipated this event, or that any power on the face of the earth could 
have dragged out of me a speech or an attempt at a speech upon this occasion 
so worthily appropriated to your distinguished visitor. 

If senators and members of the House of Assembly require any additional 
proof of my regard for them or my desire to serve them, or of my willingness 
to sacrifice myself for them, you have it in this prompt but hazardous compli- 
ance with your wishes. 

This venerable hall, distinguished by so many proud reminiscences and hal- 
lowed associations connected with the early history of New Jersey, has this day 
been honoured in a way that, if the spirits of our fathers are hovering over us, 
they will applaud the spectacle. 

Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — If there is any thing that can rouse up the 
best emotions of the human mind, it is the contemplation of the spontaneous 
affection which gratitude sometimes bestows upon the possessor of high virtues 
and great intellectual attainments. When we can lay down on the altar of 
patriotism all our selfish and unworthy feelings, forgetting party predilections 
and sectional differences, to pay just homage to the great and good, we may feel 
that we have achieved a triumph over human infirmity of which we may well 
be proud. 

This is a proud day for New Jersey. I feel it as a Jerseyman, as a man, as 
a patriot. This day, here in this Hall of the Representatives of the people, the 
men and women of New Jersey have assembled to testify their regard for the 
talent, the patriotism, and the worth of Daniel Webster, one of the wisest and 
best of mankind. Whenever I contemplate the character of Daniel Webster — 
his extraordinary endowments — my heart goes to heaven in thanks to God that 
he has made such a man, that he has thus endowed one of our species. It is 
not simply that manly form or noble brow (which seems to have been placed 
as a crown to mark the man) to which our homage is paid, but to one of the 
strongest hearts and most gigantic minds of the age. I have known him for 
thirty years, and have seen him sitting among the wise and good in the 
councils of the nation. I myself have sat beside him and drunk in every 
word that fell from his almost inspired lips. I say before this assembly, and 
before the world, that if there is a patriotic heart that warms the bosom of any 
man, that heart is in the body of Daniel Webster. I have heard him discourse 
in private, at various times, on the subject of our public affiiirs, and I never 
heard him say a word that might be construed inimical to the interests of his 
country or his race, or that might not well have emanated from the heart of 
great and pure men. I have seen him engaged in the sports of the field with 
his gun upon his shoulder, following my own dogs; in short, whenever or 
•wherever I have heard or seen him, he has always been the same great and 
generous man. 

You need not then be surprised at my hesitation to speak on this occasion, or 
think my concern affected. 

The exalted patriotism and great talents of your distinguished visitor are quite 
enough to disturb my poor abilities. But still I could not refuse your wish to 
hear me spe.ak, or let the occasion pass without raising my feeble voice in wel- 
come of your guest ; nay, more, I am proud of the occasion, and rejoice in the 
opportunity to pay my fealty to exalted worth. 

Mr. Webster has justly, and I believe truly, said that whenever he has crossed 
our territory and looked out on our fields the enthusiasm of patriotism was 
kindled in his breast to a greater degree than anywhere else. Mr. Webster is 
one of the few men who have studied the traditions of New Jersey, and I 
recommend them to the study of all my fellow-citizens. Her history has never 
yet been written. When it is truly written it will make some of the brightest 
pages in the history of our country, not only where it recounts the military ex- 
ploits of the Revolution, but where it may tell of her steady perseverance in 
maintaining the institutions of the country in time of peace. A well-written his- 
tory of the State of New Jersey will make the national heart leap with joy and 
pride. New Jersey has heretofore had too much dignity to boast of her achieve- 



130 APPENDIX E. 

menta, and too much pride to complain of injustice. New Jersey has scarcely 
ever been heard to demand from the councils of the country her just and equal 
rights, but she has at last protested. The other day I, as your representative, 
called on the wisdom of the nation, then around me in the Capitol, to witness 
that New Jersey had suffered and sacrificed much for the country and the Union, 
that she had fought as valiantly and performed as important services to this 
nation as any of her sister States, and that she had received as few direct bene- 
fits from the General Government as any other State. 

In the history of nations you can hardly find such an exhibition of self-de- 

Sendence and moral grandeur as may be found in the annals of our State. New 
ersey has proceeded on steadily in the path of patriotic duty and noble sacri- 
fice, without complaint or yet remonstrance. 

To estimate New Jersey by her own pretensions, you could scarcely imagine 
that she had ever made a sacrifice or fought a battle in the cause of Liberty or 
the Constitution. When you come, however, to examine her records, you 
will be amazed to see that she has accomplished so much for the public 
■welfare, and astonished that she has received nothing worthy a name from the 
General Government. Her mineral resources appear to be inexhaustible, but 
they are buried in her mountains; her hills are filled with iron and copper, all 
useless, inactive, dead, in consequence of a constantly-fluctuating revenue sys- 
tem. I will never be a beggar at their doors, but I shall not be slow to tell them 
what our necessities require, and what, in my judgment, justice demands. I 
shall insist, because it is good Democratic doctrine. I shall insist upon drag- 
ging the iron out of our mountains down to the sea-coast. We want it for our 
national defences. I am aware that I tread upon delicate ground. I hope no 
one will see cause to be ofi'ended. I mean no offence. Why should not the 
operations of the General Government contribute to the development of our re- 
sources as it has done that of other States? I hope to get this matter of iron 
as well as of glass included in the next tariff bill. The tariff was heretofore a 
Democratic measure in the State of New Jersey. 

The first resolutions on this subject, as well as I can recollect, were intro- 
duced in the Legislature of this State by Mr. James J. Wilson, a gentleman of 
eminence and worth. No one will dispute or doubt his Democracy. As a 
leader of the Democratic party, he was looked up to and much respected 
throughout the State. 

Not many years after this, however, the party was rent asunder. One side 
took with them the thunder. It was all the thunder they had. They would 
not allow the matter to be settled, and thus it became a party question. How 
much more necessary a tariff is at this time, let experience and facts show. 
With an annual expenditure of fifty millions of dollars staring us in the face, 
can any thing be more ridiculous than to quarrel about the vagaries of free 
trade? This amount of expenditure will require an average duty of thirty-three 
per cent, on all our importations. We have no other resource for revenue of 
any consequence but the duties on imports. What folly then, I repeat, to be 
constantly wrangling about the doctrines of free trade! Fellow-citizens, my 
party robes do not hang very heavy on my shoulders when the welfore, the 
honour, or the interest, of my country are at stake. 

I have passed my grand climacteric, and can have at best but few more years. 
I live now in and for my children. If I were to consult my interest alone or 
my ambition, I would concern myself but little about the constitution or the 
laws ; I would not be much concerned at what might happen. I speak not for 
myself, but for my children's children. 

Here, in this favoured land, is the last and best asylum of Liberty ; drive her 
from these shores, and where will she find a resting-place? 

Fellow-citizens, among the most important means of preserving our govern- 
ment in its strength and purity is a rigid economy in our public expenditures: 
they have increased during the last quarter of a century from thirteen to fifty 
millions of dollars; and if the augmentation of increase should be the same 
during the next twenty-five years, the cost of this Government will be carried 
up to the enormous amount of two hundred millions of dollars, — about three- 



APPENDIX E. 131 

fourths of the expenses of the British Empire, not including the payment of 
the interest on her public debt. If this prodigal and wasteful expenditure be not 
arrested, the country will be ruined. 

If corruption, with its hydra head and its long train of evils, once begins to 
sap the foundations of the Republic, Freedom is clean gone forever. 

I desire to see this Government brought back to the simplicity and economy 
of the days of Jefferson. Such sentiments may seem strange to some of my 
fellow citizens, but it must be borne in mind that I belong to the young and pro- 
gressive school of Democracy. It is true I was brought up at the feet of Gama- 
liel, among the strictest sect of Federalists : my father was a Federalist ; I 
was too young to take a part in the politics of those days. He was a compeer 
of Hamilton, of Washington, and other great men of those times ; he loved 
them when they lived, and loved their memories when dead. It was his glory 
to follow where the footsteps of Washington led. If I had been old enough 
in those days, I would probably have been a Federalist. A purer band of 
patriots and more honest men never ruled the destinies of any country. They 
acted wisely in their day and generation. 



THE END. 



8TEBE0TTPED BT L. JOHNSON t 00. 
PaUASELPUIA. 



31^77-2 



